FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Brazil: Foreign Relations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the Government's bilateral defence co-operation agreement with Brazil; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The UK-Brazil Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed by both countries in Rio de Janeiro on 14 September 2010. The Agreement will be published as a Command Paper and copies will be placed in the House of Commons, House of Lords and Votes Library when the administrative processes have been completed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence. We expect this to be by the end of this year. A statement announcing the signing of the Agreement was published on the Ministry of Defence website on 14 September.

Burma: Politics and Government

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the  (a) leadership and  (b) political objectives of the Burmese government.

Jeremy Browne: Burma is a military dictatorship. Power is controlled by Senior General Than Shwe. He has presided over a wide range of human rights abuses and political prisoners have increased under his leadership. He is the architect of the regime's so-called 'roadmap to a disciplined democracy', including elections scheduled for 7 November. These elections are designed to perpetuate military rule. The Government are clear that they will not be free and fair and lack international credibility.

China: Human Rights

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the government of China to release from custody the Nobel Peace Laureate, Liu Xiaobo.

William Hague: The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo shines a spotlight on the situation of human rights defenders worldwide. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Government as a whole are committed to freedom of expression in all countries. It was for that reason that I raised the case of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, during my visit to China in July this year and we will continue to urge the Chinese Government to release Mr Liu.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in the Department in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: The information is not held in the form requested. Total spend on official hospitality by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers in each year was:
	
		
			  £ 
			  FY  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Foreign Secretary 44,856 43,824 43,421 
			 Other Ministers 16,175 10,459 16,479 
			 Total 61,031 54,283 59,900 
		
	
	Activities funded include working meetings with Ministers in the UK, meetings with senior political and military figures from countries, and events hosted for political and business delegations (including those in support of UK Trade and Industry). Any expenditure on official hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.

Departmental Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many interns his Department has engaged in the last 12 months; and how many were  (a) unpaid,  (b) remunerated with expenses only and  (c) paid a salary.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office engaged 86 interns over the last 12 months on eight internship schemes.
	Graduate Talent Pool (30)-a Government-wide internship scheme for unemployed graduates. It was used to fill gaps at Band A before the new intake of administrative staff started work. Interns were taken on for a minimum period of three months.
	Partner University Placement Scheme (34)-the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's diversity outreach programme targeting under represented groups. 19 interns were taken on for a two-week period in 2010 and will return next summer to complete their placement for another two weeks. The remaining 15 were returning interns from the 2009 scheme.
	Cabinet Office Summer Placement Scheme (10)-a Government-wide diversity outreach programme. Five disabled and five ethnic minority interns were taken on for a period of six to nine weeks.
	Economic Sandwich Placement Scheme and Economist Interns (7)
	Legal Library Graduate Trainee (1)
	Foreign Policy Internship Scheme (3)
	They worked in various roles spread across the office's 3,000 strong London work force. All the interns were paid a salary.
	The number of interns joining the office will likely be reduced in 2011 and each scheme scrutinised to ensure it is needed.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to ensure its activities are compliant with the provisions of Article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on international co-operation.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to promoting and protecting human rights for all people without discrimination on any grounds. We strongly support the rights of disabled people as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and play an active role in our international work by encouraging governments to sign, ratify and implement the Convention. In support of this we are currently funding a project in Europe to develop practical guidelines and checklists to assist governments and non-governmental organisations on the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. In India we are funding a project which promotes implementation of the Convention through the integration of disability into health, employment, information technology and rural development policies.
	At the UN, we continue to play a leading role in advancing disability rights, including through our membership of the Human Rights Council and our support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is currently preparing a study on the role of international co-operation to promote implementation of the Convention.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the representations  (a) his Department and  (b) the Homes and Communities Agency has received on the 2010-11 National Affordable Housing Programme in respect of the East of England since 6 May 2010.

Andrew Stunell: Both the Department and the Homes and Communities Agency receive a wide range of representations including correspondence and meetings from many and varied organisations as well as individuals. Given the breadth and volume we are unable to deposit this information within the Library of the House without incurring disproportionate cost.

Affordable Housing: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bodies had been allocated funding under the Homes and Communities Agency's continuous market engagement scheme in the East of England as at 30 September 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: The following list shows the providers which have been allocated funding through the Homes and Communities Agency's National Affordable Housing Programme continuous market engagement process from September 2008 to September 2010 in the East of England.
	 Lead Partner Organisation Name
	Hastoe Housing Association Limited
	Orwell Housing Association Limited
	Housing 21
	Hanover Housing Association
	Jephson Homes Housing Association Limited
	Sanctuary Housing Association
	Moat Homes Limited
	Octavia Housing
	Metropolitan Housing Trust Limited
	Hightown Praetorian and Churches Housing Association
	Home Group Limited
	Estuary Housing Association Limited
	English Rural Housing Association Limited
	Flagship Housing Group Limited
	Orbit Housing Group Limited
	Swan Housing Association Limited
	Paradigm Housing Group Limited
	Places for People Group Limited
	Longhurst Group Limited
	Catalyst Housing Group Limited
	Network Housing Group Limited
	Family Mosaic Housing
	Paddington Churches Housing Association Limited
	Hyde Housing Association Limited
	The Guinness Trust
	Aldwyck Housing Association Limited
	Ability Housing Association
	Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association Limited
	Circle Anglia Limited
	Affinity Sutton Group Limited
	East Thames Group Limited
	Accent Corporate Services Limited
	Persimmon Homes Ltd
	Bellway plc
	Bloor Holding Limited
	Bovis Homes Group plc
	Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd
	Miller Homes Ltd
	Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd
	Galliford Try plc
	Logic Homes Ltd
	Barratt Developments plc
	Larkfleet Homes
	Morris Homes
	Badger Building (E. Anglia) Ltd
	Broadgate Homes
	Explore Living
	Lagan Homes Ltd
	Redrow Regeneration plc
	Kier Homes Limited
	JS Bloor (Sudbury) Ltd
	JS Bloor (Northampton) Limited

Employment: Homelessness

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department's policy is on deeming intentionally homeless a worker in receipt of social housing who decides to move to a different local authority area in search of work.

Grant Shapps: holding answer 19 October 2010
	 The Government are committed to improving current rates of mobility and giving social tenants more control over where they live. We have pledged to introduce a national social home swap programme to make it easier for social tenants to move to another home or another part of the country. The new scheme will increase opportunities to move by allowing tenants to easily see details of every other tenant looking to exchange their home.
	The homelessness legislation provides an important safety net for people who become homeless through no fault of their own but is not intended to facilitate mobility among tenants in social housing. The definition of intentional homelessness is set out in primary legislation, and in any particular case it is for the local housing authority to decide whether an applicant has made himself intentionally homeless. Where a person has given up his home in order to move to another area to look for work and not made arrangements for alternative accommodation (and there was no other reason for leaving the home), it is likely that a local housing authority would consider that he had made himself homeless intentionally.

Homes and Communities Agency: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sites the Homes and Communities Agency owns in  (a) Peterborough and  (b) the East of England; what the area is of each such site; in respect of how many such sites has permission to develop been granted; and what estimate has been made of the number of homes to be built on each such site.

Andrew Stunell: To offer full transparency a complete copy of this information has been placed in the Library of the House, in the form of (i) a list recording 334 development sites owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), including the area of each site, in the East of England by local authority including Peterborough (ii) a separate list recording planning consent status in 300 cases regarding HCA sites in the East of England, by local authority including Peterborough, showing also the number of housing units planned to be built on each site where this is known or recorded.
	These two lists are drawn from internal management systems maintained by the HCA for its own working purposes. HCA's financial system maintains a comprehensive record of all its development assets. As a subset of this, HCA also maintains a separate record of any planning-related activity on this land. These two lists represent raw management data. To reconcile this into a single list could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	In addition HCA holds a number of residual sites not suitable for housing development.

Housing: Construction

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to increase the level of new house building.

Andrew Stunell: The Government are committed to increasing housing supply from current levels.
	The previous Government's model of top-down housing targets failed to deliver: in 2009 just 118,000 completions were achieved, the lowest level of house building in England since the Second World War. On 6 July we revoked Regional Spatial Strategies and regional housing targets and passed power back to local communities. Instead of going against the grain of local opinion and creating opposition to imposed new housing, we will increase housing supply by introducing powerful fiscal incentives so that communities benefit directly from housing growth. We are confident that our approach to housing, which rebalances power from central Government to local authorities and local people, and combines this with powerful incentives for local authorities, will deliver the housing that communities want and need. We will set out further details on the timetable for introducing incentives in due course.
	We will also seek to reduce the burden of unnecessary regulation on homebuilders in order to reduce costs and boost private sector investment. Further details will be announced in due course.

Housing: East of England

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many  (a) flats and  (b) houses were built in (i) Peterborough and (ii) the East of England in each of the last five years; and how many such properties of each type were built in the social sector;
	(2)  how many homes with  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four or more bedrooms were built in (i) Peterborough and (ii) the East of England in each of the last five years; and how many such homes of each such type were built in the social sector.

Andrew Stunell: The number of new build homes completed in Peterborough and the East of England in each of the last five years are shown in the following tables. Estimates of the proportions that were flats and houses, and the estimated split by number of bedrooms, are also shown for the East of England but this source does not provide such estimates below the regional level.
	
		
			  Total new build completions, Peterborough UA 
			  Financial year  Number 
			 2005-06 880 
			 2006-07 1,210 
			 2007-08 930 
			 2008-09 680 
			 2009-10 970 
		
	
	
		
			  New build completions, East of England 
			  Financial year  Total (number)  Of which 
			Flats  Houses  1 bedroom  2 bedroom  3 bedroom  4 bedroom 
			 2005-06 20,251 45 55 12 41 26 21 
			 2006-07 22,559 46 54 12 42 25 21 
			 2007-08 22,422 49 51 10 47 23 20 
			 2008-09 17,916 46 54 14 45 23 19 
			 2009-10 15,066 43 57 15 40 24 21 
			  Source: National House-Building Council and P2 returns from local authorities. 
		
	
	Information for the social sector is provided in the following tables. This information is based on the number of social rent, intermediate rent and low-cost home ownership homes delivered through the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP). The breakdown by number of bedrooms and dwelling type is available only for supply recorded on the Housing and Communities Agency's Investment Management System which covers the large majority of supply of new affordable homes.
	Not all affordable housing is provided through new build completions as supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. For example, in the most recent period available for 2008-09, a total of 7,710 affordable homes were provided in the East of England of which 420 were in Peterborough.
	The Department's 'Affordable Housing in England Statistical Release', containing information for 2009-10 will be published on 28 October.
	
		
			  New build affordable housing completions, East of England 
			  Number of bedrooms 
			   1  2  3  4  All 
			 2005-06 780 1,670 720 140 3,310 
			 2006-07 960 2,070 j 810 160 4,010 
			 2007-08 1,300 2,960 1,090 210 5,550 
			 2008-09 1,370 2,430 1,000 250 5,050 
			 2009-10 1,180 3,130 1,180 300 5,790 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			   Flat  House  All 
			 2005-06 1,500 1,850 3,350 
			 2006-07 2,060 1,970 4,030 
			 2007-08 3,050 2,510 5,560 
			 2008-09 2,860 2,200 5,060 
			 2009-10 2,970 2,830 5,800 
		
	
	
		
			  New build affordable housing completions, Peterborough UA 
			  Number of bedrooms 
			   1  2  3  4  All 
			 2005-06 10 50 20 0 80 
			 2006-07 10 70 20 0 110 
			 2007-08 20 190 30 30 270 
			 2008-09 70 190 90 30 380 
			 2009-10 70 380 200 60 700 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
			   Flat  House  All 
			 2005-06 30 50 80 
			 2006-07 50 60 110 
			 2007-08 150 110 270 
			 2008-09 190 190 380 
			 2009-10 170 530 700 
			  Notes: 1. Totals are for NAHP only and include both social rent and low-cost home ownership completions. 2. Data exclude open market HomeBuy type products and bedsits. 3. The totals in the two East of England tables may not match as studio flats are deemed to have zero bedrooms. 4. Data are rounded to nearest 10 units.

Landlord and Tenant

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will review the effectiveness of options for redress available to landlords whose tenants do not uphold their contractual obligations.

Andrew Stunell: Overall, the current legislative framework delivers the right balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants and we have no plans to change it. The issue of housing benefit being paid directly to tenants is being looked at as part of the Department for Work and Pensions review of the first two years' operation of the Local Housing Allowance. The review is due to report by the end of the year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Wages (England and Wales) Order 2010

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed in each of the six grades set out in the Agricultural Wages (England and Wales) Order 2010 in each of the last five years.

James Paice: The following table shows the number of workers in England and Wales by Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) grade for the period 2005 to 2009. Please note that the number of workers by AWB grade for 2010 will not be available until the June Census labour figures for 2010 have been published in December.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Grade 1 19.9 27.8 22.4 23.6 28.1 
			 Grade 2 90.8 85.5 76.0 76.0 66.4 
			 Grade 3 1.6 3.6 7.1 9.1 9.8 
			 Grade 4 21.2 15.6 17.6 22.4 22.3 
			 Grade 5 4.3 2.7 6.6 6.4 9.8 
			 Grade 6 2.0 0.8 2.8 1.8 3.8 
			 All 139.8 136.0 132.5 139.2 140.3 
			  Notes: 1. Salaried managers are not included. 2. June Survey information is based on data captured for 1 June of each year, whereas the Earnings and Hours Survey information is based on four quarterly surveys from January, March, June and September for the respective year. 3. These figures are based on a sample survey and are, therefore, subject to a degree of sampling error.  Source: June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture and DEFRA survey of Earning and Hours. 
		
	
	Please note that the figures provided, along with other related statistics, are available in the Farm Labour and Wage Statistics publications which can be found on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/earninqshours/index.htm

Agricultural Wages Board

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that support for farm workers continues following the proposed abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board.

James Paice: Once the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) is abolished, workers will continue to be protected by the national minimum wage legislation and Working Time Regulations, as are workers in all sectors of the economy.
	In addition, any terms of an agricultural worker's employment contract which exist at the time the AWB is abolished will continue to apply until such time as the worker's contract is varied by agreement between the employer and the worker, or until the contract comes to an end. If an employer makes changes to the terms of employment without the agreement of the worker, this constitutes a breach of contract and the worker may have a claim for breach of contract.

Agricultural Wages Board

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has commissioned an equality impact assessment of the implications for agricultural workers of the closure of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales.

James Paice: An equality impact assessment on the implications for agricultural workers as a result of the closure of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales has been commissioned. It will be published in due course.

Agricultural Wages Board

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms will be in place for regulation and oversight of  (a) rates of pay for overtime,  (b) stand-by duty and night allowance,  (c) entitlement to bereavement leave,  (d) birth or adoption grant and  (e) dog allowance for agricultural workers following the closure of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales.

James Paice: Once the Agricultural Wages (AWB) Board is abolished, agricultural workers will no longer have a statutory right to the overtime rates of pay, on-call allowance (formerly stand-by duty), night allowance, dog allowance, birth/adoption grant, and entitlement to bereavement leave currently set out in the Agricultural Wages Order. Instead, agricultural workers will be protected by the national minimum wage legislation and Working Time Regulations, as with workers in all other sectors of the economy.
	However, any terms of an agricultural worker's employment contract which exist at the time the AWB is abolished, will continue to apply until such time as the worker's contract is varied by agreement between the employer and the worker, or until the contract comes to an end. This is the case whether the agreement is written, verbally agreed, or implied by custom and practice. If an employer makes changes to the terms of employment without the agreement of the worker, this constitutes a breach of contract and the worker may have a claim for breach of contract.

Agriculture: Summertime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the implications for farmers in the North of England of any change to British Summer Time; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We have received no recent representations on the implications for farmers in the North of England of a change in British summer time.

Badgers: Disease Control

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will publish the evidence underpinning her decision to authorise a cull of badgers; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what factors she took into account in her decision to authorise a cull of badgers; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: On 15 September, DEFRA launched a public consultation setting out the Government's approach to tackling bovine TB in England and a proposal to address the disease in badgers. Alongside the consultation document, we published the scientific evidence, veterinary assessments and impact assessment on which the Government's proposal is based. A decision on our approach will be taken following the consultation and I intend to publish a comprehensive and balanced bovine TB eradication programme early in 2011.

Dangerous Dogs

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to publish her response to her Department's consultation on dangerous dogs.

James Paice: The recent public consultation exercise on dangerous dogs legislation received 4,250 responses. My ministerial colleague Lord Henley is currently considering the responses and we expect to make an announcement on our proposed way forward later in the autumn.

Food: Labelling

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to bring forward proposals for food labelling guidelines requiring disclosure of slaughter methods for meat products.

James Paice: The European Parliament has suggested an amendment to the proposed EU food information regulations to require food labels to indicate whether an animal has been stunned before slaughter.
	I appreciate that this is an issue which people feel strongly about and we will be working with interested groups to find a way to address their concerns. People should know what they are buying in shops and when they are eating out, and I will be discussing with the food industry whether labelling and point of sale information can play a greater role in giving consumers a choice.

Food: Labelling

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations issued by her Department govern the  (a) sale and  (b) labelling of halal meat; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: There are no specific regulations governing the sale and labelling of Halal meat. However, if meat is labelled as Halal, this must not mislead the consumer. Information provided on the label or in the presentation of a food must not be false or misleading under the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended), section 15 of the Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended), Article 16 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (General Food Law Regulation 2004) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Information provided or the overall presentation of a food must not deceive the average consumer such that the average consumer would make a purchasing decision that they would not have taken otherwise.

Food: Labelling

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the merits of bringing forward regulations to require halal slaughtered meat for sale to the public to be clearly labelled as such; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The European Parliament has suggested an amendment to the proposed EU Food information regulations to require food labels to indicate whether an animal has been stunned before slaughter.
	I appreciate that this is an issue which people feel strongly about and we will be working with interested groups to find a way to address their concerns. People should know what they are buying in shops and when they are eating out, and I will be discussing with the food industry whether labelling and point of sale information can play a greater role in giving consumers a choice.

Forestry Commission

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what consideration her Department gave to transferring the Forestry Commission to the private sector.

James Paice: Prior to the announcement from my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr Maude), on 14 October to retain and substantially reform the Forestry Commission, the Government considered a range options for the Forestry Commission. I will set out the Government's proposals later in the year.

Forestry Commission

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to bring forward proposals for the reform of the Forestry Commission; and which models of ownership for that organisation she plans to consider.

James Paice: The Forestry Commission and DEFRA will publish a consultation later in the year that will seek views on the implementation of a new strategic approach for forestry in England.

Livestock: Sustainable Development

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of sustainable livestock farming in the UK; what recent discussions she has had on this subject at EU level; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The Government are committed to ensuring we have a thriving and sustainable livestock sector in the UK, and we are working with the industry on the challenges it faces. This includes Government support for the agricultural industry's Climate Change Task Force in delivering its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for the dairy, beef and sheep, and pork meat sectors in delivering their product roadmaps for environmental sustainability.
	DEFRA supports research on livestock through our research programmes on sustainable farming and food and animal health and welfare.
	Internationally, the Government holds regular discussions on sustainable farming and food at EU level, with other member states, and more widely through, for example, our membership of the Global Research Alliance on the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The Government's Foresight project examining how the international community can sustainably feed nine billion by 2050 is another example of this UK leadership.

Sustainable Development Commission: Wales

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the work of the Sustainable Development Commission in Wales.

James Paice: The Secretary of State and the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing discussed the work of the Sustainable Development Commission when they met at Environment Council on 13 October.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Intelligence Services: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which service has responsibility for  (a) directing and  (b) leading intelligence policy in Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: The Security Service directs and co-ordinates all national security intelligence collection and investigation work across Northern Ireland. PSNI officers work in liaison with Security Service personnel, including for the purpose of translating intelligence into executive action. In all circumstances, including where the interest is national security-related, it is the role of the PSNI to mount executive policing operations, make arrests and take forward prosecutions under the direction of the Public Prosecution Service.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding he has allocated to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for  (a) 2011-12 and  (b) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: Funding has not been set beyond the end of the current financial year. I expect that it will be set in the coming months, taking into account the implications of the spending review.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Alternative Vote: Referendums

Guto Bebb: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the level of funding required for a public information campaign in respect of the proposed referendum on the electoral system for the House of Commons on a day when national or local elections  (a) are and  (b) are not scheduled to take place.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it estimates that the expenditure for its planned public information campaign for the proposed referendum will be £6.83 million. This estimate is not affected by whether the referendum takes place on the same day as elections.
	If the referendum takes place on 5 May 2011, as proposed, the public information campaign will include information on both the referendum and elections scheduled, at the cost stated above.
	If the referendum did not take place on 5 May 2011, the Commission estimates an additional £2.928 million would be required for a separate campaign for the elections.

Electoral Systems

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what representations the Electoral Commission has received on the appropriateness of the involvement of its Chair in its preparations for the proposed referendum on the electoral system for the House of Commons.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has received no such representations.

Local Government: Constituencies

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the honourable Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what proposals the Electoral Commission has made for ward boundary changes in Daventry district; what the timescale is for their implementation; and if he will make a statement.

Gary Streeter: The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) informs me, that at present, it has not made any proposals for ward boundary changes to Daventry district.
	The LGBCE has set criteria to trigger a review if there is significant electoral inequality in all or part of a local authority area. The LGBCE commenced an electoral review of Daventry district on 20 July 2010 after it had identified that one ward, Abbey North, had 43% more electors than the average for the district as a whole. A draft Order, intended to implement the LGBCE's final recommendations, will provide for new electoral arrangements for the district council to be implemented at the local elections in 2012.

Local Government: Constituencies

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the honourable Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what representations the Electoral Commission has received on the Daventry district boundary review.

Gary Streeter: The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) informs me that during the council size consultation period of the review it received 12 representations, all of which can be found on its website:
	www.lgbce.org.uk

Local Government: Constituencies

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the honourable Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how much the Electoral Commission  (a) has spent and  (b) plans to spend on the review of electoral wards in Daventry district.

Gary Streeter: The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) informs me that to date it has spent £2633 in immediately attributable costs, and an estimated further £4000 in staffing and overheads, on the electoral review of Daventry district.
	The LGBCE informs me that it cannot provide exact costs for future spending. The final costs depend on the geographical scale of the review area, its complexity, and the contribution made by the local authority to framing warding schemes. Costs can change if, for example, further consultation is required at any stage. The LGBCE seeks to discharge its statutory functions while keeping down its own and others' costs.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has for the future of the Low Carbon Communities Challenge Fund after 2010-11.

Gregory Barker: The Low Carbon Communities Challenge is a research programme, providing grant funding to communities over two financial years: 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	Work evaluating and sharing learning from the community projects will continue beyond 2010-11, but there will be no further funding.

Departmental Equality

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to publish equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as part of the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Consultations on policy arising from the comprehensive spending review will be accompanied by published impact assessments comprising, where appropriate, equality impact assessments.

Departmental Visits Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on overseas visits for senior officials in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has spent £1,525,024 on overseas visits for all officials during the period of 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010.
	The amount spent for senior officials can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fuel Poverty: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in Dartford constituency were in fuel poverty on the latest date for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The most recently available sub-regional split of fuel poverty relates to 2006, and shows that there were 2,800 households in the Dartford constituency that were classified as living in fuel poverty. This is equivalent to 7% of all households in the Dartford constituency.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many Low Carbon Building Programme grants have been made in respect of wind turbines installed in locations which do not meet the wind speed criteria specified in the programme.

Gregory Barker: The Low Carbon Buildings programme (LCBP) did not have, as a primary validity criterion, a specified wind speed for the grant funding of wind turbines.
	Every grant application to the LCBP was scrutinised before approval.
	For all grants, regardless of technology, the overall criteria for acceptance was to meet benchmark £/tC02 savings. This indirectly assesses the system performance giving an indication of value for money and amount of C02 saved. There are some projects which are outside recommended benchmarks. However anyone exceeding the benchmark either had their grant capped, i.e. below 50% or they offered a valid explanation as to why it was still good VFM. For example schools might have opted to use a wind turbine to educate pupils.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the cost of abating each tonne of carbon dioxide under  (a) the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive,  (b) Feed-in Tariffs and  (c) the Renewables Obligation.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the latest estimates on the cost of abating each tonne of carbon dioxide under the three schemes:
	
		
			  Policy  Costs effectiveness 
			 RHI (based on February 2010 RHI consultation publication) Traded sector: £57/tC02 
			  Non-traded sector: £75/tC02 
			   
			 FITs (based on impact assessment accompanying Government Response, February 2010) Traded sector: £460/tC02 
			 RO (based on analysis for Impact Assessment accompanying RO Order 2010) Traded sector: £115/tC02 
			  Notes: 1. RO and RHI cost effectiveness indicators are presented in 2009 prices. FiTs costs effectiveness is in 2008 prices. 2. For RHI the indicator covers the period 2010 to 2045. For RO and FiTs the period covered is 2010 to 2030.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Manpower

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to minimise the loss of expertise in the armed forces resulting from a reduction in service personnel numbers in the next three years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 18 October 2010
	At the heart of the Strategic Defence and Security Review has been a thorough examination of our force structure, looking at the overall shape, size and role of the armed forces, the Ministry of Defence Civil Service as well as the reserve forces. This includes the implications on expertise of any redundancies which might result.

Armed Forces: Pay

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the local overseas allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 19 October 2010
	Within the Strategic Defence and Security Review it was agreed that the overall package of allowances needs to be made simpler to administer, more effective and encourage greater personal responsibility. While the current package will be reduced, no decisions have been taken on individual allowances.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions the monetary value of pension awarded to the family of a serviceman or woman killed in action has related to a previous rank because their rank at the time of their death had been held for less than 12 months in the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: Since 6 April 2005 there have been three instances of personnel killed in action when, at the time of their death, they had held an acting rank for less than 12 months, and where the pension awarded under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 was based upon their substantive rank.
	We are considering options to improve the compensation and pension package for the dependants of personnel who are killed in an acting rank.

Armed Forces: Taxation

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on exempting the pay of armed forces personnel from tax during periods of service abroad; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when his Department last made an assessment of the merits of exempting from tax the pay of service personnel serving abroad; and what its findings were.

Andrew Robathan: In the last year, the Ministry of Defence has received nine letters from Members of Parliament and the public about exempting the pay of armed forces personnel from tax during periods of service abroad.
	There has been no recent assessment of the merits of exempting the pay of those serving overseas from income tax. It is a long-standing rule recognised by successive governments that the armed forces, like other Crown servants, are liable for the payment of income tax wherever they are serving. This is not considered inequitable as the UK armed forces have an expectation of worldwide service, which is reflected in their overall remuneration package, which includes, for example, the payment of the X-factor (currently 14%) in recognition of relative disadvantages on military life and payment to those experiencing an exceptional level of separation. In addition, to further recognise the sacrifices personnel make while deployed further allowances have also been introduced, and the operational allowance, which is itself exempt from tax, has been doubled.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2A test reports on the RWMIK vehicle platform.

Peter Luff: I regret that I must withhold the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Atomic Weapons Establishment: Finance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 29 January 2010, Official Report, column 1118W, on AWE Aldermaston, how much his Department spent on capital expenditure for the two Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield in each financial year from 2000-01 to 2004-05.

Peter Luff: The capital expenditure figures for the two Atomic Weapons Establishment sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Capital costs at outturn prices (£ million) 
			 2000-01 21 
			 2001-02 43 
			 2002-03 45 
			 2003-04 62 
			 2004-05 92

Defence Career Partnering

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recovery placements Defence Career Partnering has made since its inception.

Andrew Robathan: Defence Career Partnering is an arrangement between the Ministry of Defence and selected organisations to promote the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured or sick service personnel by way of providing work experience in areas of employment they may not have knowledge of.
	Since September 2009, 53 recovery placements have been arranged, or are at various stages of development. Experience gained by those participating in such schemes has rebuilt self esteem and contributed to their own future employability either within the armed forces or outside.

Defence Career Partnering

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what contracts his Department has entered into in establishing Defence Career Partnering;
	(2)  what services his Department contracts for the delivery of Defence Career Partnering.

Andrew Robathan: The Department has not entered into any contracts to establish, or for services to deliver, Defence Career Partnering.
	Defence Career Partnering is a partnering arrangement under which the Ministry of Defence partners with selected organisations under a memorandum of agreement to work collaboratively on a range of personnel projects. For example, the Return to Work Initiative provides work experience opportunities for wounded, injured and sick service personnel, as well as enabling industry to show their support for our armed forces.

Defence: Procurement

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on facilitating the award to small and medium-sized enterprises of contracts for maintenance and support for  (a) Typhoon and  (b) other major equipment platforms sold overseas.

Peter Luff: It is Government policy to encourage and assist Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in securing contracts with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and overseas customers. The MOD Defence Suppliers' Service helps SMEs and other companies wishing to sell products and services to the MOD, by explaining the acquisition process and providing contact points both within the Department and for our prime contractors, who may have subcontracting requirements. The MOD encourages competition wherever possible in the allocation of lower-tier subcontracts and this provides opportunities for SMEs to bid for elements of larger projects.
	In the specific case of Typhoon, the majority of contracts are placed, on behalf of the participating nations, by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) based in Munich and are, therefore, subject to German law. International industrial consortia acting as overall prime contractors for the aircraft and the engines then subcontract the work, including maintenance and support of the aircraft, to the respective national partner companies, including BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce in the UK.
	The UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation is responsible for assisting British industry to identify defence export opportunities, including for major platforms sold overseas. It has a dedicated Small Business Unit.
	After the Strategic Defence and Security Review process the MOD will publish a Defence Industry and Technological Policy Green Paper that will have a specific section dedicated to SME engagement.

Departmental Energy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many diesel generators his Department and its agencies have purchased in each of the last five years.

Peter Luff: Diesel generators are procured for a broad variety of requirements across the Department and the information requested is not held centrally. Records indicate that the following generators have been purchased by the Ministry of Defence since 2005, although the majority of these data are not available broken down by year. Purchases by other business areas cannot be ruled out.
	
		
			  Financial year  MOD Diesel Engine Group 
			 2005-06 9 
			 2006-07 10 
			 2007-08 4 
			 2008-09 13 
			 2009-10 17 
		
	
	
		
			  Business area  Total 
			 Battlefield Utilities 3,870 
			 Air Commodities Team 6 
			 Defence Estates(1) 60 
			 Expeditionary Campaign Infrastructure Team 61 
			 DE and S Ships 70 
			 (1) Figures provided cover generators purchased in the UK only. Overseas there are different procurement arrangements and there is no central record. 
		
	
	Additionally, 37 multi-functional aircraft ground support equipments containing a power generation capability along with a number of other functions, to support joint helicopter command battlefield helicopter operations from deployed flying sites, were purchased over the last five years.

Departmental Equality

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to publish equality impact assessments undertaken by his Department as part of the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 19 October 2010
	The Ministry of Defence has carried out equality impact assessments as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review and the spending review. Records of this will be kept for a minimum of five years and will be made available to third parties if requested.

Departmental Public Relations

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on public relations consultancy fees since his appointment.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 18 October 2010
	Information on public relations consultancy fees is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As with other Government Departments the Ministry of Defence is currently imposing restrictions on all new consultancy expenditure. The Office of Government Commerce will shortly be publishing details of all consultancy contracts with a value of £20,000 or more approved by Ministers since the imposition of the restrictions. No cases approved by Ministers since the restrictions were imposed have involved public relations consultancy.

Military Decorations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answers of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 172W, on military decorations and 15 September 2010,  Official Report, column 1286W, on armed forces: medals, whether the review team on the award of medals has been constituted; whether the terms of reference for the review have been set; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: In our programme for Government we stated that we intended to review the awarding of medals. Discussions are currently taking place in order to determine the scope and terms of reference of this review.

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his most recent estimate is of the monetary value of decommissioning liabilities at Atomic Weapons Establishments.

Peter Luff: The cost associated with the decommissioning, care and maintenance of redundant facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment is estimated to be in the order of £2.7 billion as at 31 March 2010, at 2009-10 prices. This figure includes the conditioning, retrieval and storage of contaminated materials.

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many facilities at Atomic Weapons Establishments are  (a) timetabled for decommissioning,  (b) incare and maintenance awaiting decommissioning and  (c) undergoing decommissioning.

Peter Luff: The numbers of nuclear facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishments that are timetabled for decommissioning, in care and maintenance awaiting decommissioning and undergoing decommissioning are 33 timetabled for decommissioning, six in care and maintenance awaiting decommissioning, and three undergoing decommissioning.

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a timetable has been set for decommissioning the gravel gerties at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield.

Peter Luff: Decommissioning activities for the gravel gerties (the current nuclear warhead assembly and dissassembly facilities at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield) are currently planned to commence in late 2015 and to be complete in late 2021.

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what options are under consideration for decommissioning the Pangbourne Pipeline at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston; and when he expects the AWE Executive Board to complete its business evaluation of proposals for decommissioning the pipeline.

Peter Luff: Two options are under consideration for the decommissioning of the Pangbourne Pipeline: to leave it in-situ or to remove it. The Executive Board of AWE plc is expected to complete the evaluation of proposals for decommissioning the pipeline by March 2011.

EDUCATION

Academies

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reason his Department does not require academies to provide the curriculum entitlement of a maintained school; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Academies are not required to follow the national curriculum because we believe that having the flexibility to be imaginative in their curriculum design, within a broad and balanced context, is a core freedom which is at the heart of the academies programme.
	All academies established by the Secretary of State enter into a funding agreement. This funding agreement provides the framework within which the academy must operate. Furthermore, the ongoing funding of the academy trust is contingent upon the conditions in its funding agreement being met, one of which is having a curriculum that is balanced and broadly based.

Adoption: Finance

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the cost to adoptive parents of adopting a child; what plans he has for the future level of the inter-agency fee; and what recent representations he has received on the financial situation of voluntary adoption agencies.

Tim Loughton: Regular discussions take place, covering a wide range of topics, between Ministers from the Department for Education and their counterparts in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Local authorities have the discretion to give financial support to adopters whose adopted children can cost more to care for than other children. Although local authorities must make their own decisions, I hope they will always want to prioritise services for the most vulnerable, including looked-after children, and those moving into and out of care.
	Ministers are in close contact with representatives of the adoption sector, and are very aware of their concerns. They do not set the inter-agency fee, but are currently considering what action should be taken in other areas, for example to help reduce delay in placements for adoption. It is particularly important that local authorities take full account of the evidence in the research paper 'Adoption and the Inter-agency Fee':
	http://adoptionresearchinitiative.org.uk/study7.html
	This makes clear that effective use of voluntary adoption agencies has a positive impact on finding suitable and timely placements at a lower cost for local authorities.
	I have set up an adoption advisory group that will look at all aspects of adoption, to help ensure that suitable adoptive placements can be made available in a timely manner for all those children for whom adoption is the appropriate permanent placement.

Children in Care

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to improve arrangements for accountability in decision-making in respect of decisions on removal of children from parental care.

Tim Loughton: A key principle of the Children Act 1989 is that children are best looked after within their families unless compulsory intervention in family life is necessary. This is reflected in the local authority's functions to provide services which support children and their families.
	Unless they have the parents' consent, local authorities cannot remove children from their parents' care without first referring the matter to a court. In every case where a child is taken into care on a care order, the courts will have considered all the evidence and taken the view that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is suffering from, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.
	The Family Justice Review is currently considering what changes are needed to improve the operation of the family justice system and deliver better outcomes for the children and families it serves. Care proceedings and the accountability arrangements supporting them are part of the review's deliberations. The review is due to deliver its interim report in the spring and its final report in the autumn next year.

Children: Protection

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for the future provision of child protection services previously provided through the Government Office Network; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects on child protection services of the closure of that Network.

Tim Loughton: Following the Government's decision to close the Government office for London and the announcement of its intention, in principle, to abolish the remaining eight regional Government offices, the Secretary of State for Education has made clear that we will be ending virtually all of this Department's functions delivered by Government offices.
	Closing the regional Government office network is in line with the Government's policy on removing administrative layers and simplifying accountability across national and local government, and reducing public expenditure. It will also contribute to delivering the Government's commitment to empower local authorities by removing top down monitoring, support and challenge, freeing them up to focus on their own plans for improvement.
	To support Government's accountability for the child protection system as a whole, departmental officials have notified Ministers routinely of significant developments in relation to serious child care incidents, so that a view can be formed as to how well child protection arrangements are working across the country. This information has up until now been provided by local authority and Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) staff to Government office Children and Learner teams who have, in turn, liaised with departmental officials. From 1 October the gathering of information on serious child care incidents and serious case reviews in relation to local authorities and LSCBs in London has been carried out by a team within the Department for Education. This team will, from a later date, also carry out this function in relation to local authorities and LSCBs across the rest of England.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that we have the information necessary to support our national role in relation to child protection. We will keep these new arrangements under review and have sought feedback from local authorities and LSCBs on the operation of the new system.

Departmental Travel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of its expenditure on travel undertaken in an official capacity by each Minister in his Department in (i) May 2010 and (ii) June 2010.

Tim Loughton: As set out in the ministerial code Departments will publish, at least quarterly, details of all travel overseas by Ministers. Information for the first quarter will be published as soon as it is ready.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley) on 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 346W.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the ministerial code.

Education: Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what grants his Department has made to  (a) the Personal Social Health and Economic Education Association,  (b) the Sex Education Forum of the National Children's Bureau and  (c) the National Personal and Social Education Association for Advisors, Inspectors and Consultants in each of the last five years; how much grant funding is planned for each body in the next two years; what the (i) monetary value and (ii) purpose of each such grant is; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department has made grant payments to the Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) Education Association over the past five years as follows:
	
		
			   Grant (£) 
			 2006-07 200,000 
			 2007-08 150,000 
			 2008-09 260,000 
			 2009-10 260,000 
			 2010-11 260,000 
		
	
	The purpose of the grant was to support the provision of PSHE in schools; for the first two years (2006-07 to 2007-08) the grant money was paid to the National Children's Bureau (NCB) who hosted the Association.
	The Sex Education Forum (SEF) received grant payments from the Department over the past five years as follows:
	
		
			   Grant (£) 
			 2006-07 143,000 
			 2007-08 143,000 
			 2008-09 158,000 
			 2009-10 156,000 
			 2010-11 116,000 
		
	
	The overall purpose of grant funding for the SEF over the last five years was to support schools in providing sex and relationship education. More specifically in years 2006-07 and 2007-08, £27,000 was allocated to develop guidance and set-up and maintain a support network for health advisers working in drop-in centres in schools and FE colleges. In 2008-09 the grant included funding to cover work related to the previous Government's review of Sex and Relationships Education in schools. Funding for 2009-10 was set at £156,000 to continue the development of networks, promulgate best practice and work towards making PSHE, including Sex and Relationship Education, statutory in the National Curriculum (part of the previous Government's policy). Grant funding for 2010-11 has been provisionally profiled at £116,000.
	The Department has not paid any grants to the National Personal and Social Education Association for Advisors, Inspectors and Consultants over the past five years.
	Grant payments for the next two years have not yet been decided.

GCSE

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children taking GCSEs in  (a) grammar schools,  (b) comprehensive schools,  (c) secondary modern schools and  (d) independent schools were awarded five or more GCSEs at (i) A* to A and (ii) A* to B grades in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: In 2009, the percentages of pupils awarded five or more GCSEs by school type and grade are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 who were awarded 5 or more GCSEs 
			  Percentage 
			   Grades 
			   A* - A  A* - B 
			 Grammar schools 63.3 91.0 
			 Comprehensive schools 12.1 29.9 
			 Secondary modern schools 5.0 18.4 
			 Mainstream independent schools 48.6 72.3 
			  Note: GCSEs counted are full/applied, short course (counts half) and double awards (counts double).  Source: Achievement and Attainment Tables.

History: GCSE

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of pupils were entered for history GCSE in (i) comprehensive schools, (ii) selective maintained schools and (iii) independent schools in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of pupils entered for history GCSE in  (a) comprehensive schools,  (b) selective maintained schools and  (c) independent schools obtained a grade C or above in each year since 1997.

Nick Gibb: The information is given in the following tables.
	
		
			   Number of pupils( 1)  entering history GCSE( 2)  Percentage of pupils( 1)  entering history GCSE( 2) 
			  School type  Comp  Selective  Indep( 3)  Comp  Selective  Indep( 3) 
			 1997 166,407 10,898 20,940 35.7 53.6 50.0 
			 1998 152,067 10,033 20,450 31.9 50.2 46.9 
			 1999 152,865 10,313 19,826 31.7 50.8 46.3 
			 2000 153,018 10,735 20,155 31.8 53.2 47.2 
			 2001 156,114 11,330 20,863 31.2 54.0 47.4 
			 2002 154,434 11,423 21,245 30.6 53.8 48.1 
			 2003 155,124 11,424 21,286 30.0 52.6 48.0 
			 2004 163,468 12,140 22,233 30.7 54.6 47.3 
			 2005 161,904 12,213 23,439 30.8 54.8 50.1 
			 2006 164,103 12,542 23,907 30.7 55.7 49.1 
			 2007 161,001 11,865 23,951 29.8 52.8 49.9 
			 2008 160,362 12,147 23,694 29.9 53.8 49.5 
			 2009 155,381 11,914 23,229 29.9 53.2 48.0 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of pupils( 1)  passing history GCSE( 2)  at grade A*-C  Percentage of pupils( 1)  entering history GCSE( 2)  that pass at grade A*-C 
			   Comp  Selective  Indep( 3)  Comp  Selective  Indep( 3) 
			 1997 86,339 10,005 19,342 51.9 91.8 92.4 
			 1998 79,579 9,379 18,971 52.3 93.5 92.8 
			 1999 83,305 9,681 18,494 54.5 93.9 93.3 
			 2000 85,186 10,197 18,819 55.7 95.0 93.4 
			 2001 86,813 10,781 19,387 55.6 95.2 92.9 
			 2002 87,543 10,751 19,895 56.7 94.1 93.6 
			 2003 91,133 10,932 20,070 58.7 95.7 94.3 
			 2004 96,222 11,589 20,907 58.9 95.5 94.0 
			 2005 97,748 11,648 22,062 60.4 95.4 94.1 
			 2006 100,031 11,927 22,391 61.0 95.1 93.7 
			 2007 99,823 11,357 22,496 62.0 95.7 93.9 
			 2008 100,935 11,597 22,191 62.9 95.5 93.7 
			 2009 99,697 11,457 21,679 64.2 96.2 93.3 
			  Notes: (1) For the years 1997-2004, 15 year old pupils are counted. For the years 2005-09, pupils at the end of key stage 4 are counted. Note also that these figures include pupils recently arrived from overseas that will not be included in the local authority level figures in PQs 15948 and 15949. (2) Only full GCSE courses have been counted. (3) Pupils at independent special schools are also counted.

Music: Education

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to identify and nurture musical talent in schools following the end of the Standards Fund in 2011.

Nick Gibb: A solid, knowledge-based music education for all children and young people is very important to this Government. We also believe that every child should learn to play a musical instrument and to sing. No decision has been taken on funding for music education beyond March 2011 as the spending review continues. Following the review we will set out how we plan to promote the teaching of music and the development of musical talent in schools. The Secretary of State announced on 24 September that he has asked Darren Henley, managing director of Classic FM, to carry out a review focusing on the funding routes and delivery mechanisms for music education making recommendations on how the funding for music education can be made to work harder and smarter to produce that quality experience for children and young people.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of her Department's progress against its objective to complete outstanding decisions on legacy asylum cases by 2011.

Damian Green: The chief executive of the UK Border Agency, Lin Homer, updated the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) on 19 July 2010. The Case Resolution Directorate had concluded 277,000 cases up to the end of May 2010. She will provide a further progress update on the conclusion of these cases in her next correspondence to the HASC later in the autumn.

Asylum: West Midlands

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who are the subject of legacy cases are resident in Wolverhampton South West constituency.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is unable to accurately report on the outstanding asylum cases being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) in the Wolverhampton South West constituency.
	As reported in July 2010 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, 50% of the concluded cases were data errors and required no further action. In addition, due to the age of some cases addresses on file are subsequently found to have changed. Therefore, any such report would be unable to accurately represent CRD cases with outstanding applications.
	The agency will be reporting on its current performance in clearing the backlog later in the autumn. I am confident that the agency is on track to clear the backlog of older asylum cases by summer 2011.

Asylum: West Midlands

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who applied for asylum in the last 12 months are resident in Wolverhampton South West constituency.

Damian Green: Between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010, 147 main applicants and 71 linked dependants (a total of 218 individuals) applied for asylum with addresses within the area of Wolverhampton South West.
	All figures quoted are internal management information only and are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Borders: Personal Records

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many consultants her Department employed on the e-Borders programme in each year since 2006-07, and at what cost; what the role of each such consultant was; what assessment she has made of the performance of such consultants against the objectives of the programme; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 13 October 2010
	 The following table provides the numbers and costs of consultants and independent contractors employed by the e-Borders programme since 2006:
	
		
			  Consultancy  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Headcount 103 81 53 60 
			 Costs (£) 10,046,869 9,601,330 10,651,890 11,810,027 
		
	
	The consultancy expenditure during 2010-11 for the first six months (April to September) has been £4,706,591.
	The periods covered saw the programme move from procurement of the strategic solution and provision of the Semaphore pilot system to the more complex activity to assure the design and delivery of the strategic solution. The fall in consultant and contractor headcount during this time did not deliver an equivalent reduction in cost since there was an associated change in the mix and type of consultancy support provided, along with a need to use more hours from individual consultants because of the pressures on the programme and the requirement for their specialist knowledge.
	Prior to contract award, the role of consultants was to manage and provide advice on the procurement process. Following contract award, consultants provided advice and support in a number of areas including business design, programme management, carrier and port liaison and testing activities.
	All work carried out by consultants was agreed in formal work packages which detailed the deliverables and activities required. Achievement of those deliverables was signed off by civil servants. Consideration of the value for money provided by consultants in carrying out these activities was an integral part of the process in agreeing each work package.
	The e-Borders programme has been managed throughout by senior civil servants reporting ultimately to the senior responsible officer. Advice and guidance on specialist areas of expertise has been provided by consultants during this period to the senior management team and the e-Borders programme.

Borders: Procurement

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the value for money of undertaking a further procurement exercise for the e-Borders programme.

Damian Green: holding answer 19 October 2010
	 Since the e-Borders contract was terminated on 22 July 2010 due to significant and persistent breaches of contract by Raytheon Systems Ltd., it has been necessary to develop a strategy to procure services to replace those under the original e-Borders contract. This will include rigorous assessment of value for money.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Visitors

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the application process for tourist visas to the UK for those living in China.

Damian Green: UK Border Agency officials are in regular contact with corporate partners in the tourist industry regarding the processing of UK tourist visa applications in various countries, including China. The Agency remains committed to providing a visa service that not only assists UK plc by encouraging genuine visitors, students and business people to come to the UK, but also prevents those who seek to abuse our immigration laws or pose a criminal or security risk from reaching the country.
	The Agency aims to process 90% of general (tourist) visit visas within 15 working days and is currently meeting this target in China. For example, 92% of general visit visa applications lodged at the Beijing visa application centre and concluded in September this year were resolved within 15 working days, with 60% being resolved within 10 days.

Foreign Workers

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2010,  Official Report, column 287W, on foreign workers, how many work permit intracompany transfers have been granted to each of the three companies referred to in the answer in each year since the inception of the intracompany transfer scheme.

Damian Green: The requested information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Work p ermit intra company transfers approvals 1999-2008 
			   By top three largest employer user of work permits 
			   Number  Number  Number 
			 1999 260 0 0 
			 2000 1,170 5 0 
			 2001 1,350 0 65 
			 2002 1,900 5 330 
			 2003 2,165 610 225 
			 2004 3,050 1,810 870 
			 2005 2,970 2,450 905 
			 2006 3,825 2,755 1,235 
			 2007 3,910 2,890 2,910 
			 2008 4,470 2,385 3,065 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest 5. 2. The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.  Caveats: 1. The figures do not equate to the number of individual nationals who were granted permits because they include those applications approved to extend or amend an existing permit or where the individual has moved to another job with a different employer. Not all those who were granted a permit took up the job and some may have been refused entry clearance or further leave to remain. 2. Information is only available up until 2008 as the scheme closed at the end of 2008.

Human Trafficking: Convictions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged,  (c) prosecuted and  (d) convicted in relation to offences of trafficking for sexual exploitation under sections 57 to 60 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Damian Green: As of 30 June 2010 in relation to offences of trafficking for sexual exploitation there have been:
	558 arrests;
	294 people charged and prosecuted for trafficking and or other related offences; and
	233 convictions comprising 139 for human trafficking and 94 for other offences including rape, brothel management and money laundering.
	As at the end of June 2010 there were 61 cases that were at various stages of the criminal justice system.
	The figures have been supplied by the UK Human Trafficking Centre.

Human Trafficking: Convictions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged,  (c) prosecuted and  (d) convicted in relation to offences related to slavery, servitude or forced or compulsory labour under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Damian Green: The information requested is not available.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify individual offences.
	Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 was implemented on 6 April 2010. The most recently available data on court proceedings (held by the Ministry of Justice) are 2008.
	Court data for 2010 will be available in 2011.

Human Trafficking: Convictions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged,  (c) prosecuted and  (d) convicted in respect of offences of trafficking under section 31 of the UK Border Act 2007 committed (i) in and (ii) outside the UK.

Damian Green: None.
	Section 31 of the Borders Act 2007 does not create a separate offence of trafficking but amends the offences contained within existing legislation which criminalises human trafficking.

Human Trafficking: Convictions

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested,  (b) charged,  (c) prosecuted and  (d) convicted in respect of offences of trafficking for labour and other exploitation under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 committed (i) in and (ii) outside the UK.

Damian Green: As of 30 June 2010 in relation to offences of trafficking for labour exploitation there have been:
	270 arrests;
	86 people charged and prosecuted for trafficking and or other related offences; and
	26 convictions comprising 10 for human trafficking and 16 for other offences.
	At the end of June there were 50 cases at various stages of the criminal justice system.
	The figures have been supplied by the UK Human Trafficking Centre.
	These figures relate to offences within the United Kingdom. There has been one conviction of trafficking for forced labour where the victim was trafficked out of the UK. This offence was dealt with under the legislation of the receiving country.

Immigration

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for indefinite leave to remain from applicants originally from  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Pakistan,  (c) Iraq,  (d) Somalia,  (e) Zimbabwe,  (f) Turkey and  (g) India have been (i) received and (ii) approved in each quarter since May 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: All the data requested have been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
	We have interpreted my hon. Friend's question to mean the number of applications for indefinite leave to remain in each quarter and of those, how many were approved.
	This is internal management information and is subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Immigration: Bulgaria

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2010,  Official Report, column 303W, on immigration: Bulgaria, if she will assess the likely effect on levels of immigration of the extension by the government of Bulgaria of passport entitlement to citizens of Ukraine and Belarus.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency will continue to monitor closely any significant changes in the numbers of Bulgarians coming to the UK. During 2011 there will be an assessment of the available evidence of levels and impacts of migration to the UK by citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, to inform a decision on whether transitional controls on their access to work should be extended for a further two years on the grounds that to do otherwise would risk a serious disturbance to the labour market.

Passports

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirement there is for British passport holders to have their passports checked and scanned on  (a) leaving and  (b) entering the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 18 October 2010
	The UK Border Agency policy is that all passengers passing through UK immigration control have their travel documents checked and scanned on entry, and departure controls are undertaken on a risk-assessed intelligence-led basis.
	This is underpinned by legislation-under Paragraph 2 (1) of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971, an immigration officer may examine any persons who have arrived in the United Kingdom for the purpose of determining whether they are a British citizen and, if they are not, whether they may enter the United Kingdom without leave and, if they may not, whether they should be granted or refused leave to enter.
	Paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 permits an immigration officer to carry out a similar examination on persons seeking to embark from the United Kingdom for the purpose of establishing identity, and whether a person has entered lawfully, or has complied with conditions of any grant of leave, or whether their return to the United Kingdom is prohibited or restricted.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners held on the prison estate have completed their sentences but have yet to be deported to their home countries; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency and the National Offender Management Service work closely to ensure that foreign national prisoners (FNPs) are removed from the UK at the earliest opportunity.
	In 2009, for an average month, approximately 550 foreign national prisoners were detained in prison beyond the end of their custodial sentence while deportation was pursued.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work cards were issued under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following table shows both the quota for each of the last five years and the number of work cards issued to workers.
	For the current year, all 21,250 cards have been allocated to operators according to a pre-agreed share. Not all cards have been issued to workers at the time of writing.
	
		
			   Quota  Cards issued to workers 
			 2006 16,250 16,088 
			 2007 16,250 16,216 
			 2008 16,250 16,250 
			 2009 21,250 21,248 
			 2010(1) 21,250 21,151 
			 Total 91,250 90,953 
			 (1) Cards issued to end September 2010.  Note: The number of work cards issued is not representative of the number of individuals working in the UK under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. Not all cards allocated are used, and some cards are issued as replacements for lost or spoiled cards.  Source: This information has been provided from local management information and is not a National Statistic.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

India: Pesticides

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on the sale of pesticides by UK companies to cotton farmers in India.

Stephen O'Brien: The Secretary of State for International Development has not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on the sale of pesticides by UK companies to cotton farmers in India.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carer's Allowance

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) women and  (b) men from each age group are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Maria Miller: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  People in receipt of carer's allowance in Great Britain and abroad -by age group: February 2010 
			
			  Age of claimant  Male  Female 
			 Total 142,860 388,030 
			
			 Unknown age * 10 
			 Under 18 580 890 
			 18-24 7,920 15,140 
			 25-29 6,570 25,830 
			 30-34 8,040 39,470 
			 35-39 12,420 57,420 
			 40-44 17,290 64,840 
			 45-49 19,600 58,080 
			 50-54 19,640 49,890 
			 55-59 21,500 48,790 
			 60-64 25,920 12,880 
			 65 and over 3,390 14,790 
			 "*" Denotes nil or negligible.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. These figures are published at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html 3. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data

Funeral Payments: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many claimants in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency have received funeral payments in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he made of the monetary value of funeral payments made to claimants in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available. The number of funeral payment awards and their monetary value are available by Government Office Region or Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area only, not by constituency. Because of boundary changes to the areas used to administer funeral payments, comparable data over the last five years are not available at Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area level for Scotland. The following table gives information for the Government Office Region of Scotland.
	
		
			  Funeral payments in Scotland 
			   Number of awards  Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2005-06 6,400 6.8 
			 2006-07 6,100 6.8 
			 2007-08 6,000 6.8 
			 2008-09 5,800 6.7 
			 2009-10 5,600 6.5 
			  Note: The number of awards has been rounded to the nearest 100 and expenditure to the nearest £0.1 million.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Income Support: Eligibility

Mark Spencer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that people in receipt of income support who are entering full-time education continue to receive benefits up to the date their course begins.

Maria Miller: People in receipt of income support are able to receive benefit up to the date at which they start attending or undertaking their course of study. After this date financial support is the responsibility of the education system. Students who find themselves in financial hardship, for example if their student loan is delayed, can apply to their university or college for financial assistance from the discretionary Access to Learning Fund.

Independent Living Fund

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether an equality impact assessment will be made in respect of proposed changes to the Independent Living Fund.

Maria Miller: The long-term future of the Independent Living Fund is being considered as part of the forthcoming spending review and no decisions have yet been made. However, I can confirm that should changes be made to the operation of the Independent Living Fund, equality impact assessments will be carried out, as appropriate.

Jobcentre Plus

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of outreach services offered by Jobcentre Plus.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh, dated October 2010:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the outreach services offered by Jobcentre Plus. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus currently provides a variety of outreach services at around 1500 locations right across the country. We recognise the potential of these services to meet the needs of customers and communities and to reach the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society. These outreach services complement our core services delivered through other channels.
	Outreach schemes take a number of different forms. Among them are: outreach in local authority and community centres, providing ease of access to advice and support; prison outreach, which provides specific support to prisoners as part of their preparation for release; and outreach at school gates, children's centres and colleges. Much of this outreach work is by its nature local. However, national initiatives are evaluated centrally. For example, in 2008 the Work-Focused Services in Children's Centres pilot was set up, under which Jobcentre Plus Advisers are co-located full-time in children's centres and provide enhanced packages of support. An evaluation is testing the effect of this model on parents' preparation for (and movement into) work, as well as multi-agency working. Interim findings show that parents welcome accessing work-focused services in the children's centre, particularly in comparison to the local Jobcentre Plus office. This work is ongoing and the final evaluation report will be available in September 2011.
	In Autumn 2009 Jobcentre Plus put in place community outreach teams in three locations to work with the individuals and households that faced the most disadvantages. Working closely with social housing providers and other partner organisations, Jobcentre Plus advisers are engaging with jobless residents, helping them access the support they need to address multiple disadvantages. They are helping people who had previously considered themselves to be outside the labour market. In August 2010 the initiative was extended to a further 13 social housing estates across England, Wales and Scotland.
	We intend to produce a comprehensive evaluation of the project that focuses not only on job outcomes and engagements but also covers the specific barriers to employment that have been overcome, social benefits, the localism approach and the value of partnership working. This evaluation is ongoing; the timescale for publishing the report will be dependent on decisions made about the project following the Spending Review.
	For the future, I see outreach as an important way of delivering our services. We will continue to work with partners at a local level to establish new and innovative ways of sharing premises, facilitate the provision of more cohesive local services, promote our services to a wider customer base and potentially reduce overall Government estate costs.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Low Incomes: Personal Savings

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage saving among low-income households.

Steve Webb: DWP is developing the capacity of community sector financial service providers such as credit unions so that people on low incomes, traditionally not well served by mainstream financial institutions, have access to savings products, affordable credit and basic banking. By August 2010 the DWP Growth Fund had served over 300,000 people, of whom around 65% had been helped to open a bank or savings account. DWP Financial Inclusion Champions are also working with local authorities, social landlords and the community sector to encourage people to access these financial services.
	The Government are also committed to introducing a new duty on employers to automatically enrol eligible jobholders into workplace pension schemes to address pension undersaving. Evidence suggests that around seven million people are currently not saving enough to deliver the income they are likely to want or expect in retirement and a high proportion of those are low to moderate earners.

Motability

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the medical criteria for eligibility for the Motability scheme.

Maria Miller: Eligibility for the Motability scheme is dependent on a person being entitled to the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement. Entitlement is not determined by medical criteria but by the extent to which a person's disability gives rise to mobility difficulties. This is consistent with Motability's objective of helping severely disabled people with personal mobility needs. The Government announced in the June Emergency Budget that it would reform disability living allowance and will continue to work closely with disabled people, voluntary organisations and medical experts to develop a new independent and objective assessment of need.

National Insurance: Costs

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the annual savings in expenditure achieved by distributing national insurance numbers by letter in each of the next five years, as submitted through the Spending Challenge website as part of the process for the Comprehensive Spending Review.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	From 2011, HMRC will issue national insurance numbers to people by letter rather than providing a plastic card, saving the Government up to £1 million a year in upfront costs. From October 2010, where a replacement card is requested, a letter will be sent instead of a plastic card, saving £50,000 in 2010-11.

Pensioners: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each Parliamentary constituency in North Wales received  (a) pension credit,  (b) winter fuel allowance and  (c) disability living allowance in each of the last five years.

Steve Webb: The information is in the tables.
	
		
			  Pension credit caseload time series, number of beneficiaries, North Wales 
			  Parliamentary constituency May 2010  February 2010  Parliamentary constituency May 2005  February 2009  February 2008  February 2007  February 2006 
			 Aberconwy 3,960 Alyn and Deeside 4,250 4,230 4,170 4,190 
			 Alyn and Deeside 4,310 Caernarfon 4,520 4,480 4,670 4,650 
			 Arfon 3,800 Clwyd South 4,990 4,950 4,930 4,880 
			 Clwyd South 4,880 Clwyd West 5,690 5,670 5,680 5,520 
			 Clwyd West 5,830 Conwy 4,720 4,680 4,750 4,730 
			 Delyn 4,500 Delyn 4,510 4,450 4,450 4,370 
			 Dwyfor Meirionnydd 4,760 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 3,180 3,130 3,120 3,070 
			 Vale of Clwyd 6,370 Vale of Clwyd 6,270 6,270 6,210 6,030 
			 Wrexham 4,410 Wrexham 4,430 4,370 4,370 4,380 
			 Yns Mon 5,130 Yns Mon 5,150 5,110 5,090 5,050 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves or on behalf of themselves and a partner. Beneficiaries are the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are claiming. 3. Constituencies used for February 2010 are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. Prior to this, the Constituencies used are for May 2005.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Winter fuel payment caseload time series, North Wales 
			  Parliamentary constituency(2005)  2009-10  2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06 
			 Alyn and Deeside 17,580 17,090 16,550 15,940 15,530 
			 Caernarfon 15,470 15,320 14,980 14,600 14,370 
			 Clwyd South 16,370 16,020 15,500 15,010 14,690 
			 Clwyd West 20,110 19,850 19,490 19,030 18,830 
			 Conwy 18,190 17,970 17,710 17,360 17,120 
			 Delyn 16,850 16,360 15,820 15,200 14,850 
			 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 12,200 11,970 11,760 11,450 11,330 
			 Vale of Clwyd 18,450 18,150 17,750 17,260 17,120 
			 Wrexham 15,110 14,710 14,350 13,800 13,590 
			 Yns Mon 18,630 18,330 17,850 17,410 17,030 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Parliamentary constituency boundaries are as for the Westminster Parliament of May 2005. 3. DWP are currently working on producing 2009-10 figures for the May 2010 parliamentary constituencies.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Disability living allowance caseload time series, number of claimants, North Wales 
			  Parliamentary constituency May 2010  February 2010  Parliamentary constituency May 2005  February 2009  February 2008  February 2007  February 2006 
			 Aberconwy 3,350 Alyn and Deeside 4,550 4,410 4,240 4,180 
			 Alyn and Deeside 5,250 Caernarfon 3,500 3,500 3,490 3,480 
			 Arfon 3,550 Clwyd South 5,280 5,210 5,070 4,940 
			 Clwyd South 5,220 Clwyd West 4,960 4,860 4,710 4,630 
			 Clwyd West 5,140 Conwy 4,160 4,100 4,050 4,010 
			 Delyn 4,870 Delyn 4,850 4,720 4,630 4,590 
			 Dwyfor Meirionnydd 3,130 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 2,260 2,190 2,130 2,110 
			 Vale of Clwyd 6,790 Vale of Clwyd 6,570 6,460 6,290 6,170 
			 Wrexham 5,120 Wrexham 5,110 4,990 4,950 4,830 
			 Yns Mon 4,640 Yns Mon 4,630 4,610 4,570 4,520 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. Constituencies used for February 2010 are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. Prior to this, the constituencies used are for May 2005.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons his Department refers to individuals claiming employment and support allowance and other incapacity benefits as customers; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Department uses the term 'customer' to reinforce the importance of its relationship with the individuals claiming all types of benefits including, employment and support allowance and other incapacity benefits.
	The Department for Work and Pensions' work to develop and implement a 21st century welfare system is rooted in a professional, customer-focused relationship, and it is important that the language we use reflects this.
	Research with customers, including those claiming incapacity benefits, indicates that customer-focused language is important-as reflected in the Department's Customer Charter.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment his Department has made of the ease with which people with disabilities can complete application forms for disability benefits.

Maria Miller: As part of our consultation arrangements, Pension Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) co-ordinates the PDCS Advisory Forum, membership of which comprises of 22 organisations that collectively represent a broad range of our customers. PDCS routinely consults with the Advisory Forum on how all our claim forms can be improved, which includes Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance (AA) and Carers Allowance (CA) forms. A new child DLA claim form has been developed in partnership with voluntary organisations including the National Autistic Society, National Deaf Children's Society, Citizens Advice and the Family Fund. This is currently being tested but early feedback from customer and children's organisations has been positive. Additionally, to take account of a new legislative provision where the Higher Rate Mobility Component can be claimed from April 2011 by certain severely visually impaired customers, PDCS are developing a new DLA Adult claim form in partnership with Royal National Institute for the Blind, Action for Blind People, Citizens Advice and representatives from local authorities. It is expected that the new DLA Adult form will be available from February 2011.
	In addition, questions about the ease with which disabled customers can complete application forms for Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance have been included in the Customer Satisfaction Monitor (a customer survey of 6,000 PDCS customers) that has been commissioned by the Pension Disability and Carers Service. The results from the first year of this survey are currently being assessed ahead of external publication in early 2011.
	The Chancellor announced in the Emergency Budget that the Government will introduce a new, objective assessment for DLA from 2013-14. We will consider, as part of these reforms, how we can reduce the burden of long claim forms for applicants.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many persons suspected of offences related to benefit fraud were  (a) arrested,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) convicted in each of the last 24 months.

Chris Grayling: Information on the total number of people suspected of offences relating to benefit fraud that were arrested in each of the last 24 months is not available.
	Information is available on the number of people prosecuted and convicted following arrest in each of the last two financial years, as follows:
	
		
			   Number prosecuted following arrest  Number convicted 
			 2008-09 580 435 
			 2009-10 424 395

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people waiting trial for offences relating to benefit fraud have absconded in each of the last five years.

Chris Grayling: Information on the number of people waiting trial for offences relating to benefit fraud that have absconded in each of the last five years is not available.
	The Department seeks an arrest warrant in all circumstances in which a defendant fails to attend a hearing or trial without an explanation acceptable to the court.
	On 14 October 2010, the Department held 550 warrant cases.

Social Security Benefits: Haematological Cancer

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial support a patient with a poor diagnosis of haematological cancer receives from his Department.

Maria Miller: There are a range of benefits available from the Department to help support people with life limiting conditions and for disabled people, including disability living allowance (DLA) or attendance allowance (AA), employment and support allowance (ESA) as well as housing benefit. An award of DLA can also give rise to a disability premium on out of work benefits such as income support and job seekers allowance.
	A person who has a diagnosis of cancer and has care and/or mobility needs arising from their disability can claim DLA/AA under the normal rules. There are also special rules which apply to people who are terminally ill and not expected to live for longer than six months. Individuals with such diagnosis are automatically awarded the highest rate of the care component of disability living allowance, even if, at the time of the claim, they have no pre-existing care needs arising from their condition. Similar fast track arrangements exist with employment and support allowance.

Social Security Benefits: Visual Impairment

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he made of the number of new  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) employment and support allowance claimants in the latest year for which figures are available who are blind or have partial sight loss as a result of illness.

Maria Miller: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
	However, we do have information regarding the number of employment and support allowance customers who made a claim on the grounds of diseases of the eye and adnexa. From October 2008 to November 2009, 3,500 customers made a claim for employment and support allowance on this basis.
	This information is available in Annex C of the publication 'Employment and Support Allowance: Work capability Assessment by Health Condition and Functional Impairment: official statistics'. This can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/WCA_by_Health_Condition_and_Functional_Impairment.pdf
	Between November 2008 and November 2009, 300 customers made a claim for incapacity benefit on the grounds of diseases of the eye and adnexa.

Travel to Interview Scheme

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people participated in the travel to interview scheme in each of the last five months; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that scheme.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many people participated in the Travel to Interview Scheme in each of the last five months; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that scheme. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Travel to Interview Scheme helps customers compete for appropriate jobs outside their local travel to work area by providing help with travel costs for attending interviews. In deciding the appropriateness of an award, advisers will take into account a number of factors, which include making sure that the customer is aware of and is applying for jobs locally, the customer's ability to pay their own travel expenses, and how realistic and achievable the job in question is.
	Turning to your specific question about the number of people participating in the scheme in each of the last five months, we do not routinely gather this information and to do so would be disproportionately expensive.
	In terms of effectiveness, advisers and customers tell us the scheme is helpful and popular, but it is difficult to assess the success in terms of job outcomes. This is because the scheme aims to help people compete for appropriate jobs by enabling their attendance at interviews that would otherwise be out of reach. Once at interview the jobseeker is, of course, in competition with other applicants.

Winter Fuel Payments: British Nationals Abroad

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the monetary value was of winter fuel payments to former UK residents living abroad in the most recent year for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: In 2009-10 we made 70,880 winter fuel payments to people living in the European economic area and Switzerland at a cost of around £15 million. This represents less than 1% of the total winter fuel payments made in that year.
	 Source
	DWP Information Directorate 100% data.

Winter Fuel Payments: West Midlands

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received winter fuel allowance in  (a) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and  (b) Warley constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The information is available in the documents winter fuel payment recipients 2009-10 by local authority and gender (All) and winter fuel payment recipients 2009-10 by parliamentary constituencies and gender (All). These are available in the Commons Library and on the internet at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wfp

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Empty Property: Land

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his most recent estimate is of the monetary value of each vacant  (a) building and  (b) parcel of land leased by his Department in each region.

John Penrose: The Department currently pays a rental value of £850,447 +VAT per annum for vacant space, at 2-4 Cockspur Street, that became available on 29 March 2010.
	The Department does not lease any parcels of land.

Horserace Totalisator Board

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what timetable he has set for the sale of the Horserace Totalisator Board.

John Penrose: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in the Budget on 22 June that the Government will, over the next 12 months, resolve the future of the Tote in a way that secures value for the taxpayer while recognising the support the Tote currently provides the racing industry.
	A variety of possible approaches are being discussed with different stakeholders, and the Government will continue to talk to all parties with an interest in the Tote during that process. We will announce which structure has been agreed as soon as possible.

News Corporation

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department have had with executives of (i) News International Limited and (ii) News Corporation since their appointment.

Edward Vaizey: Since being appointed, the Secretary of State formally met James Murdoch of News International Limited on 28 June, and I formally met Rebekah Brooks of News Corporation on 12 July.

Olympic Games 2012: Ceramics

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many UK ceramic manufacturers have been awarded contracts by his Department to produce ceramic ware for the London 2012 Olympic Games;
	(2)  whether contractual requirements have been placed on UK ceramic manufacturers awarded contracts by his Department for the London 2012 Olympic Games to ensure that they manufacture ware in the UK rather than import ware for decoration and repackaging in the UK.

Hugh Robertson: holding answer 18 October 2010
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has not directly awarded any contracts to UK ceramic manufacturers for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
	As a non-departmental public body (NDPB) of DCMS, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is responsible for delivering the permanent venues and infrastructure for the Games, and contracts to ceramic manufacturers have been awarded to achieve this. The numbers and contractual requirements of these contracts are not currently held by the ODA as they have been awarded further down the supply chain by the tier one contractors and not by the ODA.
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is responsible for the official London 2012 merchandising and licensing programme, which helps to raise LOCOG's £2 billion privately-financed budget to stage the Games. Earlier this year, LOCOG appointed Waterford Crystal, Wedgewood and Royal Doulton as its ceramic and crystal licensee, to produce London 2012 commemorative and souvenir merchandise. Beyond this, LOCOG has no major requirement for ceramics procurement.

Schools: Sydenham

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects to make a decision on the recommendation of English Heritage to list parts of the structure of Sydenham School; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the effect of this decision on the implementation of the Building Schools for the Future project at that school.

John Penrose: The evidence in relation to Sydenham School is being assessed and I expect to make a decision within the next six weeks. However, the process may take longer if additional scrutiny reveals issues that require further investigation. I have had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the effect of a listing decision. The list is a register which recognises the special interest of buildings. In choosing buildings for addition to the list I cannot consider any factors other than their architectural or historic interest.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Departmental Public Relations

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of  (a) public opinion research and  (b) public relations contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years in each (A) nation and (B) region of the UK.

Edward Davey: The total spent on publicity via the Central Office of Information (COI) and directly with public relations agencies in the last five financial years is:
	
		
			   Total amount (£) 
			  2005/06 DTI Campaigns  
			 Consumer Direct PR-freelance contract 32,694 
			 Consumer Direct PR October 2005 to March 2006 57,447 
			 Consumer Direct PR-MP Event 6,963 
			 Consumer Direct-appointment of PR agency 174,640 
			 DTI Renewable Energy PR 2005/06 137,080 
			 PR support for ACAS DVD 3,645 
			 SBS Enterprising Britain PR 76,240 
			 SBS Interim PR activity 105,786 
			 Total 2005/06 594,495 
			   
			  2006/07 DTI Campaigns  
			 Business Link PR 2006/07 179,113 
			 DTI Gap Analysis 9,071 
			 DTI Renewable Energy PR 2006/07 131,582 
			 SBS Enterprising Britain PR 163,642 
			 Total 2006/07 483,408 
			   
			  2007/08 DTI/BERR Campaigns  
			 Enterprising Britain 172,630.27 
			 Renewable energy 109,326.38 
			 Employing People 30,030 
			 Queen's Awards 17,254.61 
			 Fireworks safety 15,000 
			 Consumer Protection Regulations 73,000 
			 Total 2007/08 417,232.26 
			   
			  2008/09 BERR Campaigns  
			 Employing People 165,596.25 
			 Consumer Protection Regulations 112,142.03 
			 Flexible working 24,733.63 
			 Queen's Awards 19,875 
			 Renewable Energy 2,506.54 
			 Total 2008/09 BERR 324,853.45 
			   
			  2008/09 DIUS Campaigns  
			 Student Finance and Employability 271,610.57 
			 Science (So What? So Everything) 225,000 
			 FE Colleges Week 199,760.31 
			 Climate Change 49,130 
			 Academic Freedom Debates 115,337.50 
			 Total 2008/09 DIUS 860,838.38 
			   
			  2009/10 BIS campaigns (including BERR and DIUS)  
			 Pay and Work Rights 90,000 
			 Family Rights (paternity) 36,000 
			 Consumer Tipping Awareness 31,000 
			 Employing People 219,000 
			 Student Finance and Employability 146,460.86 
			 Science (So What? So Everything) 738,956 
			 Iawards 124,794.49 
			 Employee Engagement 465,862.97 
			 Further Education Colleges Week 170,852.20 
			 Climate Change 11,276 
			 Media Audit 4,000 
			 Informal Adult Learning 208,949 
			 Academic Freedom Debates 35,896.50 
			 Total 2009/10 2,283,048.02 
		
	
	The total spent on public surveys procured through the Central Office of Information (COI) is:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			  2005/06 DTI  
			 Consumer Direct 181,650 
			 Renewable energy 23,375 
			 Total 205,025 
			   
			  2006/07 DTI  
			 Renewable energy 14,000 
			 Public attitudes to science research 29,800 
			 Total 43,800 
			   
			  2007/08 DTI/BERR  
			 Omnibus on nuclear attitudes 7,970 
			 Consumer Protection 34,700 
			 Public attitudes to science research 68,100 
			 Pregnancy leaflet awareness 17,100 
			 Renewable energy 14,600 
			 Total 142,470 
			   
			  2008/09 BERR and DIUS  
			 Informal Adult Learning deliberative 59,357 
			 Informal Adult Learning consultation analysis 9,420 
			 Informal Adult Learning mapping 40,000 
			 Evaluation of Adult Learners Week helpline 2008 14,750 
			 Attitudes to Higher Education 11,390 
			 Consumer Rights omnibus research 29,900 
			 Consumer Rights creative development 12,000 
			 Doorstep selling consumer and business research 22,800 
			 Employment Guidance administrative burdens research 178,750 
			 Employment Guidance tracking 79,200 
			 DIUS Business users web research 5,500 
			 Higher Education brand and student finance 59,840 
			 Act on CO2 Students omnibus 5,550 
			 Act on CO2 Students omnibus qualitative research 9,140 
			 Student Finance creative research 42,950 
			 Student Finance tracking 136,100 
			 Student Support-customer satisfaction-England 64,700 
			 Employing People creative testing 12,500 
			 Employing People stakeholder analysis 12,000 
			 National Minimum Wage tracking 2008/9 54,100 
			 Renewable energy consultation analysis 67,000 
			 Nuclear Stakeholder report 30,000 
			 Science branding line 27,610 
			 Directgov Education and Learning Franchise 8,600 
			 Vulnerable Workers campaign creative development 17,800 
			 Vulnerable Workers campaign tracking 55,150 
			 Vulnerable workers hotline proposition development 50,050 
			 Evaluation of public deliberative dialogue 15,000 
			 Social Media 28,335 
			 Internships 9,600 
			 Higher Education and Apprenticeships 85,000 
			 Attitudes to Skills Accounts 50,850 
			 Stakeholder research 65,580 
			 Total 1,370,522 
			   
			  2009/10 BERR and DIUS  
			 Consumer Rights tracking study 32,100 
			 Summary report on Consumer Rights omnibus 400 
			 Public perception tracking 2009 19,550 
			 Public perceptions tracker 38,475 
			 Vulnerable Workers helpline campaign pitch research 25,550 
			 Vulnerable Workers helpline tracking 75,400 
			 Vulnerable workers helpline creative development research 25,750 
			 Skills Accounts 36,600 
			 Graduate Internship campaign tracker 11,525 
			 Graduate Communications campaign 49,300 
			 Vehicle Scrappage scheme 48,700 
			 Employment Law advice 117,000 
			 Graduate Talent Pool registered employer research 32,850 
			 Science (So What? So Everything) campaign test 19,500 
			 Consumer Tipping Awareness omnibus 5,785 
			 Stakeholder surveys 75,250 
			 Small Medium Enterprises stakeholder research 56,800 
			 Total 670,535 
		
	
	Public relations contracts were awarded for national campaigns in England and Wales and cannot be broken down by region or city. Detailed information regarding the coverage of public opinion surveys is not readily available as the coverage of most of these surveys was not specific to any region.

EU Grants and Loans

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many cases were brought by the European Commission in respect of financial corrections and alleged irregularities in the disbursement of funds from the European Regional Development Fund for 2000 to 2006; how many such cases are still open; and how many such cases related to disputes over regulations on publicity for funding.

Mark Prisk: In the 2000-06 programme perspective, three cases have been brought against UK authorities by the European Commission in respect of alleged irregular expenditure in ERDF programmes. None of these cases involved a dispute over the publicity regulations. One case is still open and under discussion between the UK authorities concerned and the European Commission.

Further Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many general further education colleges will be affected by the decision to reclassify them as a part of central Government.

John Hayes: There are 251 further education colleges, incorporated under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which are affected by the Office of National Statistics' decision to classify them as central Government for the purpose of the national accounts.

Higher Education: Admissions

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of student places in universities in  (a) England and  (b) the North East in academic years (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

David Willetts: Information on the number of enrolments in higher education institutions (HEIs) in England is collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Final figures on enrolments in England and the North East in 2009/10 will not be available until January 2011. Information for 2008/09 is given in the following table:
	
		
			  UK and EU domiciled enrolments in HEIs in England and the North East 2008/09 
			   England  North East 
			 Postgraduate 333,845 16,255 
			 Undergraduate 1,460,095 83,965 
			 Total 1,793,945 100,220 
			  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest five.  Source: HESA 
		
	
	In 2008-09 the Government funded 1,160,000 full-time equivalent places and an additional 10,000 additional student numbers in 2009-10. The coalition Government are funding 1,190,000 full-time equivalent places in 2010-11, including the 10,000 places announced as part of the University Modernisation Fund. No funding decisions have been made for 2011-12; these will take place following the Spending Review. Planned funded student numbers are not available at a regional level.

Higher Education: Research

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of bibliometric measures in analysing the research performance of universities.

David Willetts: While it is acknowledged to be imperfect, bibliometric evidence is an important indicator of universities' research performance, and is well correlated, albeit imperfectly, with the quality of the research assessed. Underpinning the usefulness of bibliometric data are its characteristics of being readily available and quantifiable, which allows for timely and objective measurement and facilitates comparisons of national and international research performance.
	BIS undertakes a regular assessment of the Performance of the UK Research Base based upon Bibliometrics. The most recent of which, "The International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base", was published in 2009:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/migratedD/publications/I/ICPRUK09v1_4
	Highlights from this assessment revealed that the UK maintains a remarkably strong research base, remaining the most productive country in the G8 as measured by citations per pound spent and second only to the USA in its share of highly cited papers.
	According to this report, bibliometrics have an important role in indexing research performance-despite suffering from some limitations, and while:
	'the defects of bibliometric evidence are familiar' ...
	'bibliometrics are likely to be of increasing importance'
	in the next few years.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Regional Development Agencies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from trade unions on the transfer to local enterprise partnerships of employees from regional development agencies.

Mark Prisk: I have received a letter, dated 15 September, from the Public and Commercial Services Union regarding regional co-ordination of strategy for economic regeneration and the matter of future employment opportunities and redundancy arrangements for RDA staff.

Medicine: Voluntary Organisations

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to  (a) the economy and  (b) university research of funding for medical research from charitable sources since 2005.

David Willetts: The Government welcome the valuable contribution from charities to medical research in the UK. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not carried out any specific analysis of the contribution of funding for medical research from charitable sources to the economy or university research since 2005. However, the Medical Research Council was a sponsor of the document "Medical Research: What's it worth?" which was published by RAND Europe in November 2008
	http://www.brunel.ac.uk/385/other/TAP825EconomicBenefitsReportFULLWeb.pdf
	This analysed the economic impact of both public and charitable funding. It demonstrated that every pound invested in cardiovascular research over the period of the study resulted in a benefit to GDP of 39 pence per year in perpetuity.

Public Bodies: Engineering

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, whether  (a) the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and  (b) the Construction Industry Training Board will retain its statutory power to raise training levies on the engineering industry following transfer to the private sector.

John Hayes: The coalition Government are committed to review public bodies, with the aim of increasing accountability for actions carried out on behalf of the state. For the Industry Training Boards (ITBs) we are reviewing the scope for a statutory levy to be operated by a private sector organisation. It is right that Government look at the options for increasing the flexibilities and freedoms under which employers can invest in training. If we cannot find a way of moving ITBs to the private sector, without compromising their ability to raise a statutory levy, then we can still explore ways to further encourage efficiency and flexibility.

Regulation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects his Department's review of new regulations to be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: In the Budget the Government announced plans for reducing the regulatory burdens on business, including the introduction of a one-in-one-out system for new regulations and a fundamental review of all regulation inherited from the previous Government scheduled for introduction over the coming year. These regulations will not be implemented until they have been reviewed and re-agreed by the Reducing Regulation Cabinet Committee.
	This review is on-going and an announcement will be made once it has been completed.

Students: Loans

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of graduates are making repayments on their student loans to the Student Loans Company  (a) one,  (b) five and  (c) 10 years after completing university.

David Willetts: As student loans mature, increasing numbers of borrowers fully repay. For example by April 2010 39% of the 2000 cohort and 16% of the 2004 cohort had fully repaid. The table shows the proportion of those who remain liable to repay who made repayments during the relevant tax year. Borrowers with fluctuating earnings may make repayments in some years and not others, so for example some of those not repaying in the fifth year after leaving higher education may have made repayments in previous years.
	Borrowers are not required to make repayments when they are earning less than £15,000 per year. Repayments are collected through the tax system, so generally borrowers cannot default.
	
		
			  Percentage of student loan borrowers making repayments( 1) 
			  Repayment cohort( 2)  Percentage repaying in first tax year after leaving higher education  Percentage repaying in fifth tax year after leaving higher education 
			 2000 34 42 
			 2001 37 46 
			 2002 45 59 
			 2003 51 64 
			 2004 53 66 
			 2005 46 - 
			 2006 46 - 
			 2007 47 - 
			 2008 51 - 
			 (1) The table covers borrowers who received loans as English domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU students studying in England. It shows borrowers making repayments in the relevant tax year as a percentage of borrowers with an outstanding balance at the start of that tax year. It covers repayments known by SLC at 30 April 2010. (2) Borrowers are placed in a repayment cohort according to when they first became liable to repay, which is in the April after they graduated or otherwise left their course.  Source: Student Loans Company 
		
	
	Income contingent loans were introduced in 1998 and the first repayments were made in 2000. As 2000 is the first repayment cohort, consistent separate data for those who left higher education after 10 years are not yet available. Figures relate to student loan borrowers regardless of whether they are graduates or not.
	The first two repayment cohorts are atypical as they only comprise borrowers on short courses and those who left university before completing their courses. The first repayment cohort containing graduates from three year courses is the 2002 cohort.
	From April 2005 the earnings threshold at which borrowers are required to make repayments was raised from £10,000 to £15,000. This explains the lower percentage repaying in the first year from the 2005 cohort onwards.

HEALTH

Arthritis

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that people with rheumatoid arthritis are given a personalised care plan; and who will be responsible for developing that plan with the patient.

Paul Burstow: Personalised care planning aims to put people at the centre of decisions about their care and should be offered to all people with long-term conditions including those living with rheumatoid arthritis. Care plans should be developed collaboratively with the individual and the health and social care professionals with whom they have regular contact. In most cases there will be a lead professional who will initiate the process, for example a general practitioner, a practice nurse, a specialist nurse, a social care worker or an allied health professional. Other professionals involved in the person's care should also be aware that they have a care plan and input as necessary.

Arthritis

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of regional variations in the usage of treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the implementation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Clinical Guideline 79 for rheumatoid arthritis in England.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not made any specific assessment of either regional variations in the availability of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) or of the implementation of clinical guideline 79 issued by NICE for rheumatoid arthritis.
	It is the responsibility of national health service bodies to implement NICE guidance and NICE publishes a number of implementation tools alongside its guidance to help facilitate this.

Blood: Contamination

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to screen blood already stored in blood banks for the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus.

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to remove from storage blood donated by persons diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Anne Milton: There are no plans to screen blood already stored in blood banks for the xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) or to remove from storage blood donated by persons diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis.
	A recent study in the United States (of America) reported that XMRV has been detected in a number of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) sufferers. CFS/ME sufferers can currently give blood when they are well. These data have not been replicated in Europe. An expert subgroup of National Expert Panel for New and Emerging Infections (NEPNEI) met in May 2010, to consider all available evidence about XMRV and conduct a risk assessment. The subgroup concluded that XMRV can infect humans but there is currently no evidence that it causes human disease and that on the evidence before the group, no public health action is required at this time. Since the subgroup meeting in May there has been no new scientific evidence that would change the conclusions of the subgroup. In July 2010, the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), similarly did not recommend further measures at present. Both groups will continue to monitor the situation.
	However, from 1 November 2010, CFS/ME sufferers will no longer be able to donate blood. The UK Blood Services recognised that exclusion from donation by people with ME/CFS needed to be brought in line with that from other relapsing conditions for the protection of the donor, and not because of potential infection risks.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implications for  (a) organ donation and  (b) people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) who are undergoing surgery of the ban on people with ME from donating blood.

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for his Department's decision to cease to accept blood donations from persons diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The change to the United Kingdom Blood Services donor selection guidelines (which comes into force on 1 November 2010) to permanently exclude from blood donation, anyone who reports that they have had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is being made purely on the grounds of donor safety, as CFS/ME is a relapsing condition. It brings practice for CFS/ME into line with other relapsing conditions or neurological conditions of unknown origin, to avoid the potential for blood donation to adversely affect the donor.
	The change was not made because of a perceived risk to recipients of blood from CFS/ME patients and therefore does not affect the safety of organ donations and CFS/ME patients undergoing surgery.
	The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs on the basis of current evidence does not recommend further measures at present but wishes to continue to monitor the situation.

Dementia: Drugs

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress in achieving his Department's commitment to reduce the prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs to people diagnosed with dementia by two thirds in two years.

Paul Burstow: Professor Alistair Burns, the National Clinical Director for Dementia, is leading the work to reduce the use of anti-psychotics in all settings. As a priority, the NHS Information Centre is undertaking an audit for the Department on the prescribing of anti-psychotics for people with dementia. The aim remains to achieve overall a two-thirds reduction in the level of prescription over a period of two years from establishing a baseline position. There is emerging evidence from the audit that there has been a reduction in use of these drugs since last year. These data are being validated.

Dental Services

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to implement the proposals on the engagement of consultants in dental public health and dental practice advisers in the development of new arrangements for NHS dentistry as referred to in his Department's White Paper on 'Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS'.

Simon Burns: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' refers to creation of a NHS Commissioning Board and a new public health service, to integrate and streamline existing health improvement. The NHS Commissioning Board will take on responsibility for commissioning national health service primary dental services, while the primary care trusts' responsibilities for local health improvement will transfer to local authorities. Local authorities will employ the director of public health jointly appointed with the public health service. To discharge their functions and responsibilities, both the public health service in local authorities and dental service commissioners will need appropriate advice and input from dental public health consultants, dental practice advisers and their teams, working with local clinicians.

Departmental Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the monetary value is of contracts his Department has awarded to each  (a) management consultancy and  (b) IT company since 7 May 2010.

Simon Burns: The information is contained in the following tables:
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the Department to management consultancy companies from 7 May 2010 to 22 September 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 Amtec Consulting plc 2,060 
			 Gardiner and Theobald 10,480 
			 Intel 30,250 
			 Inventures Ltd 19,740 
			 KPMG 630,000 
			 Loughborough University 32,990 
			 Malcolm Hutchinson Associates Ltd 4,950 
			 McKinsey and Co Inc UK 9,000 
			 Methods Consulting Ltd 172,911 
			 Moorhouse Consulting 110,000 
			 Mott MacDonald Ltd 6,875 
			 PA Consulting Group Ltd 429,360 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 1,675 
			 Quality Business Management Ltd 170,835 
			 Quo Imus Ltd 34,630 
			 2020 Delivery 13,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the Department to information technology companies from 7 May 2010 to 22 September 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 Ability Net 554 
			 CSC Computer Sciences Ltd 565 
			 Gap Internet Communications 2,048 
			 Oracle 68,040 
			 Parallel Interactive Media 21,900 
			 Sapient Ltd 8,128 
			 SAS Software Ltd 53,420 
			 Simplisys Ltd 10,311 
			 SPSS (UK) Ltd 5,515

Departmental Grants

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grants his Department has made to  (a) Brook,  (b) the fpa and former Family Planning Association,  (c) Marie Stopes International,  (d) the British Pregnancy Advisory Service,  (e) Education for Choice and  (f) the Terrence Higgins Trust in each of the last three years; how much grant funding is planned for each body in the next two years; what the (i) monetary value and (ii) purpose of each such grant is; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department does not provide grant funding to Marie Stopes International, or the British Pregnancy Advisory Service. The amount of grant funding and purpose of each grant for the other organisations requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Department of Health Section 64/Third Sector Investment Programme (TSIP) 2009-12 
			  £ 
			  Name of organisation  Purpose of grant  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11  2011-12( 1)  2012-13( 1) 
			 Brook Section 64 Core (infrastructure support) 86,000 0 0 0 0 
			 Brook Third Sector Investment Programme Development of Regional Capacity Project 0 138,006 106,000 84,800 0 
			 fpa Section 64 Core (infrastructure support) 130,000 0 0 0 0 
			 fpa Third Sector Investment Programme Sustainable Futures Project 0 140,000 105,000 70,000 0 
			 Terrence Higgins Trust Section 64 Core (infrastructure support) 220,000 0 0 0 0 
			 Terrence Higgins Trust Third Sector Investment Programme Sustainable Futures Project 0 154,000 121,000 80,000 0 
			 Terence Higgins Trust Third Sector Investment Programme National HIV Long Term Conditions Project 0 0 75,000 75,000 75,000 
			 Education for Choice Third Sector Investment Programme promoting and supporting a continuum of care around pregnancy pathways for young people, project 0 27,500 27,500 27,500 0 
			 (1) All awards from April 2011 are subject to the outcome of the spending review.

General Practitioners: Buildings

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account he plans to take of the  (a) age and  (b) size of GP-owned premises in his proposals for the future funding of such premises.

Simon Burns: Primary care trusts currently have responsibility for managing the delivery of general practitioner services, including taking account of the age, size and suitability of premises from which general practitioners (GPs) make their services available to patients. The arrangements for reimbursement of GP premises costs are set out in "The NHS Premises Costs Directions 2004", which has already been placed in the Library. Following the establishment of the NHS Commissioning Board, it will take on responsibility for contracting with GPs and for funding those arrangements under the GP contract arrangements applying at that time.

Health Services: Brighton

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what financial support his Department has provided to  (a) Brighton and Hove City Council and  (b) NHS services in Brighton and Hove for the support of carers in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the role  (a) the Carers Centre for Brighton and Hove and  (b) other voluntary organisations have in supporting carers.

Paul Burstow: Brighton and Hove city council received £1.102 million in 2008-09, £1.167 million in 2009-10 and £1.132 million in 2010-11 for the carers element of their area based grant.
	The previous Government made £150 million available within primary care trust allocations in 2009-11 (£50 million in 2009-10 and £100 million in 2010-11) to enable them to provide breaks for carers. The money was not ring-fenced and no mechanisms were put in place to ensure that the money was spent on carers.
	No assessment has been made of the role that the Carers Centre for Brighton and Hove, or other voluntary organisations, have in supporting carers.

Maternity Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which each strategic health authority has fulfilled the requirements of its local maternity workforce plan  (a) in general and  (b) in respect of the size of the midwifery workforce.

Anne Milton: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are considering the number of maternity staff needed to deliver safe maternity services and extend choice.
	A national assessment will be made as part of the operating framework assurance process.
	The following table outlines the midwifery workforce in each SHA for each of the last three years.
	
		
			  Midwives in England 
			  Headcount 
			  SHA  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 1,287 1,331 1,382 
			 North West 4,001 3,892 3,855 
			 Yorks and Humber 2,446 2,472 2,565 
			 East Midlands 1,744 1,771 1,877 
			 West Midlands 2,861 2,850 2,918 
			 East of England 2,406 2,476 2,560 
			 London 4,401 4,785 4,866 
			 South East Coast 1,819 1,915 2,028 
			 South Central 1,677 1,735 1,783 
			 South West 2,427 2,437 2,617 
			  Source: NHS Information Centre 
		
	
	The following table shows the total number of obstetricians and gynaecologists in each SHA for each of the last three years.
	
		
			  England 
			  Headcount 
			  SHA  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 252 270 277 
			 North West 689 731 751 
			 Yorks and Humber 531 499 528 
			 East Midlands 365 381 406 
			 West Midlands 467 486 519 
			 East of England 433 470 476 
			 London 1,087 1,155 1,204 
			 South East Coast 358 371 414 
			 South Central 393 427 416 
			 South West 408 439 449 
			  Source: NHS Information centre

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Human Genetics Commission; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Human Genetics Commission does not employ staff and therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the Human Genetics Commission has been provided by departmental officials and staff seconded to the Department. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Health Protection Agency are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The functions of the Health Protection Agency are to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. All of the Health Protection Agency's functions will be retained. The Health Protection Agency will be abolished as a statutory organisation and its functions will be transferred to the new public health service.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) oversees the ethical conduct of stem cell and gene therapy clinical trials in the United Kingdom and previously provided advice to Ministers on gene and stem cell therapies.
	Following the advisory non-departmental public bodies (ANDPBs) review it has been decided that GTAC no longer needs to report and provide advice directly to Ministers. The review concluded that its Research Ethics Committee statutory functions would be transferred to the National Research Ethics Service.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010 , Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The remit of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV is to provide advice and monitor progress on the implementation of the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV published in 2001, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. The group is to be abolished and replaced by a stakeholder advisory group on sexual health. This group will provide advice to departmental officials rather than direct to Ministers. Terms of reference for the group have yet to be agreed.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, 
	(1)  how many staff are employed by the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff;
	(2)  how many staff are employed by the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff;
	(3)  how many staff are employed by the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants and the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment do not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariats for the committees are provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committees of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Department. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Advisory Group on Hepatitis; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Group on Hepatitis do not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Alcohol Education and Research Council; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Alcohol Education Research Council (AERC) employs three staff.
	The reforms to the AERC were announced in the report of the arm's length bodies review, published in July 2010. As set out in the review, the AERC will be abolished as a non-departmental public body and remain as a charity.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Appointments Commission; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Simon Burns: The Appointments Commission currently employs 54 members of staff. It is not yet clear how many, if any, staff will be transferred to the Department or another Government organisation. It is anticipated that the number of staff will reduce by approximately half in March 2011, with all remaining staff being made redundant in March 2012, with the exception of any moving to another employer.
	It is estimated that redundancy payments may total between £1.75 million and £1.82 million over the two-stage redundancy period.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs arising from its reconstitution as a Departmental Committee of Experts. The secretariat for the committee is currently provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The reforms to the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence were announced in the report of the arm's length bodies review, published in July 2010. During 2009-10, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence employed an average of 18.7 full-time and part-time staff, including temporary staff (annual report and accounts 2009-10). We do not expect that any staff will be transferred out of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence or made redundant as a result of these reforms.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Expert Advisory Group on AIDS does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Health Protection Agency. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) does not employee any staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. One post in the secretariat supporting GTAC was transferred from the Department to the National Research Ethics Service.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Genetics and Insurance Committee; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Department's intention to abolish the Genetics and Insurance Committee was announced in 2009 by the previous Government. The committee has not met since October 2008. The committee did not employ staff and therefore there were no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The Genetics and Insurance Committee secretariat was provided by departmental officials.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Health Protection Agency; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The reforms to the Health Protection Agency were announced in the report of the arm's-length bodies review, published in July 2010. As at 31 March 2010, the Health Protection Agency employed 3,791 staff (average number of full-time equivalent staff). Further work is required to plan for implementation of the reforms.
	The Department is working with individual arm's length bodies to support delivery of the transitional changes required. It is too early at this stage to set out what the full impact of the review will be in terms of impact on staff and the costs of redundancies.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The reforms to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority were announced in the report of the Department's arm's length bodies review, published in July 2010. As of 13 October 2010 there were 83 staff in post. Further work is required to plan for implementation of the reforms before estimates of staff transfers and redundancies can be made and of the costs involved.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Human Tissue Authority; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The reforms to the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) were announced in the report of the Department's arm's length bodies review, published in July 2010. The HTA has a staffing complement of 67 full-time equivalent members of staff. As of 15 October 2010, there were 45 staff in post. Further work is required to plan for implementation of the reforms before estimates of staff transfers and redundancies can be made and of the costs involved.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Anne Milton: The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV does not employ staff and therefore there will be no staff transfers either to the Department or to the new Stakeholder Advisory Group. Any costs associated with the closure of the Independent Advisory Group are currently being assessed.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, how many staff are employed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations; how many such staff will be transferred to  (a) his Department and  (b) new bodies; how many such staff will be made redundant; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of redundancy payments for these staff.

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is tasked with advising Government on matters relating to the provision of vaccination and immunisation services. On 14 October it was announced that the JCVI will no longer be classified by the Cabinet Office as an advisory non-departmental public body. The function of the JCVI will remain unchanged, following its reconstitution into a Department/public health service committee of experts. None of the JCVI's functions will be transferred to other bodies.
	The JCVI does not employ staff, therefore there will be no redundancies or associated redundancy costs. The secretariat for the committee is provided by the Department. A secretariat function will continue to be provided for the reconstituted committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Genetics and Insurance Committee are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The Department's intention to abolish the Genetics and Insurance Committee (GAIC) was announced in 2009. The Committee last met in October 2008. The Committee's functions were:
	to develop and publish criteria for the evaluation of specific genetic tests, their application to particular conditions and their reliability and relevance to particular types of insurance;
	to evaluate particular tests against those criteria and to bring to public knowledge its findings;
	to report to Health, Treasury, and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Ministers on proposals received by GAIC from insurance providers and the subsequent level of compliance by the industry with the recommendations of GAIC;
	to provide independent wide ranging oversight of how insurers are using genetic tests, specifically:
	to provide independent scrutiny of compliance with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) Code of Practice and the terms of the concordat and moratorium agreed in 2005 on the use of genetic test results by insurance companies;
	to deal with complaints from insurance applicants about the way an insurance company has dealt with their application under the moratorium, where such complaints have not been resolved to the satisfaction of the applicant by either their insurance company in the first instance or by the ABI; and
	to report annually to Health, Treasury, and DTI Ministers on compliance by insurers with the ABI Code of Practice, the concordat and the moratorium.
	The GAIC's functions were transferred to a subgroup of the Human Genetics Commission-the Monitoring Group for Genetics and Insurance. Approval of genetic tests for use in insurance will be carried out by an ad-hoc Genetics and Insurance Applications Panel. Proposals relating to the exact remit and constitution of the new arrangements are currently being developed.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Expert Advisory Group on Aids are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The function of the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS is to provide advice on such matters relating to HIV/AIDS as may be referred to it by the Chief Medical Officers of the Health Departments of the United Kingdom.
	The function of the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS will remain unchanged, following its reconstitution into a Departmental/Public Health Service Committee of Experts.
	Once the change is enacted the Expert Advisory Group on AIDS will continue to be responsible for the function but as a Departmental/Public Health Service Committee of Experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The functions of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence are set out in the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 (as amended). All of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence's current functions are to be retained and we propose to extend its remit to enable it to set standards for and to quality assure voluntary registers of health and social care workers.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: As set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, (the 1990 Act) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's statutory functions are:
	the licensing and monitoring of establishments: (i) providing treatments involving the creation of embryos outside the body and treatment involving the use of donated gametes or embryos, (ii) establishments providing fertility related services involving the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage or distribution of gametes and embryos and (iii) centres carrying out research involving the use of human embryos;
	to keep under review information about embryos, the subsequent development of embryos and the provision of treatment services and other activities governed by the 1990 Act, giving advice to the Secretary of State for Health on these matters if asked to do so;
	to publicise the services it provides to the public and those provided by licence holders;
	to provide advice and information to licensed establishments, patients and gamete/embryo donors;
	to maintain a statement of the general principles it considers should be followed in carrying out activities under the 1990 Act and any functions related to those activities;
	to maintain and promote compliance with a code of practice giving licensed establishments guidance on the proper conduct of licensed activities; and
	to maintain a register of all licensed treatment cycles carried out in the United Kingdom, with details of donors, patients and any resulting offspring and provide them with information as requested.
	As indicated in the report of the Department's arm's length bodies review, published on 26 July 2010, it is proposed that these functions will be transferred to other bodies by the end of the current Parliament.
	We will examine in detail the practicalities and legal implications of how to divide the functions between the Care Quality Commission, any new research regulator and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs advises United Kingdom Health Departments on the most appropriate ways to ensure the safety of blood, cells, tissues and organs for transfusion/transplantation. Its remit includes providing advice on the microbiological safety of gametes and stem cells, in liaison with the relevant regulatory authorities. The Committee provides independent advice on risk management for UK Health Departments to consider.
	The function of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs will remain unchanged, following its reconstitution into a Departmental Committee of Experts and will continue to be responsible for these functions.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Advisory Group on Hepatitis are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The function of the Advisory Group on Hepatitis is to advise the Chief Medical Officers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on appropriate policies for the prevention and control of viral hepatitis in the community and in health care settings, but excluding advice on the microbiological safety of blood and tissues for transplantation, and of health care equipment.
	The function of the Advisory Group on Hepatitis will remain unchanged, following its reconstitution into a Departmental/Public Health Service Committee of Experts.
	Once the change is enacted the Advisory Group on Hepatitis will continue to be responsible for the function but as a Departmental/Public Health Service Committee of Experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions;
	(2)  pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions;
	(3)  pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The function of the Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM) and the Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COC) is to provide advice to Government Departments and Agencies on the potential mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, respectively, of chemicals, from natural products to new synthetic chemicals used in pesticides or pharmaceuticals.
	The function of the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) is to provide advice to Government Departments and Agencies on all matters concerning the potential toxicity and effects upon health of air pollutants. The functions of COM, COMEAP and COC will remain unchanged, following their reconstitution into departmental committees of experts. Once the change is effected COM, COMEAP and COC will continue to undertake their function but as departmental committees of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The functions of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment are to assess and advise Government and the devolved authorities on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation and to assess the adequacy of the available data and the need for further research. The functions of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment will remain unchanged, following its reconstitution as a departmental committee of experts.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Appointments Commission are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Simon Burns: The Appointments Commission is responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, for appointing chairs and non-executive members of local national health service bodies and the majority of the Department's national bodies. The Appointments Commission also delivers a range of other supporting functions.
	The majority of the Appointments Commission's work and functions will cease to exist in the future as there will be no local and fewer national public appointments. As part of the transition to abolition, the Department is currently working with the Appointments Commission on considering which functions may continue.
	Remaining national appointments will be undertaken by the Department, in-line with other Government Departments.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 505-06, on public bodies reform, what the functions of the Alcohol Education and Research Council are; which of these functions are to be retained; and which bodies he proposes to have responsibility for fulfilling these functions.

Anne Milton: The Alcohol Education and Research Council (AERC) was established as an Executive non-departmental public body via the Licensing (Alcohol Education and Research) Act 1981.
	The AERC has charitable status and administers a fund of around £8 million to support research into the prevention of alcohol-related harm. The Department does not provide funding for this arm's length body.
	As set out in the Department's report of the Arm's Length Bodies Review, the AERC will be abolished as a non-departmental public body and remain as a charity.

Respiratory Diseases

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital bed days were accounted for by patients with  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and  (b) all respiratory diseases in (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The most recent 'National Statistics' certified Hospital Episode Statistics data are for 2008-09; the following numbers are only available at the level of Bolton Primary Care Trust (PCT), rather than Bolton South East constituency. For patients treated in Bolton PCT, regardless of place of residence, there were 6,079 bed days with a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (defined as ICD-10 codes J40 to J44 inclusive). For patients resident in Bolton PCT, but treated anywhere in the English national health service, there were 4,808 bed days with a primary diagnosis of COPD. Overall, in the English NHS, there were 878,218 bed days for this primary diagnosis in 2008-09.
	For patients with a primary diagnosis of respiratory disease (defined as ICD-10 codes J00 to J99 inclusive), there were 27,474 bed days for patients treated in Bolton PCT, or 23,141 bed days for patients resident in Bolton PCT. Overall, there were 4,249,216 bed days for these primary diagnoses in 2008-09.

Respiratory Diseases

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions there were for  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and  (b) all respiratory diseases in (i) Bolton South East constituency and (ii) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The most recent 'National Statistics' certified Hospital Episode Statistics data are for 2008-09; the following numbers are only available at the level of Bolton Primary Care Trust (PCT), rather than Bolton South East constituency. For patients treated in Bolton PCT, regardless of place of residence, there were 809 first admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (defined as ICD-10 codes J40 to J44 inclusive). For patients resident in Bolton PCT, but treated anywhere in the English national health service, there were 651 first admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of COPD. Overall, in the English NHS, there were 119,317 first admission episodes for this primary diagnosis in 2008-09.
	For patients with a primary diagnosis of respiratory disease (defined as ICD-10 codes J00 to J99 inclusive), there were 5,518 first admission episodes for patients treated in Bolton PCT, or 4,816 first admission episodes for patients resident in Bolton PCT. Overall, there were 757,003 first admission episodes for these primary diagnoses in 2008-09.

Respiratory Diseases

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to include a lung function test within the NHS Health Check.

Simon Burns: The purpose of the NHS Health Check programme is to identify an individual's risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes. The tests used in the NHS Health Check are based on economic modelling undertaken by the Department to ensure it is clinically effective and cost-effective. We continue to keep the components of the NHS Health Check under review as new evidence emerges.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Children

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged  (a) 11 and  (b) 12 years were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in each of the last five years; if he will make it his policy routinely to publish figures on the number of STI diagnoses among under-12s in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) paper entitled 'Review of the Dissemination of Health Statistics-Confidentiality Guidance', which conforms with departmental policy on data publication, has been adopted to enable the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to provide surveillance information without jeopardising patient confidentiality. When publishing information on sensitive clinical conditions such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), public health interests must be balanced against patient confidentiality and data protection obligations. The HPA aims to consistently apply the principles and uniform standards of the ONS/Department of Health guidance when publishing information.
	Information on STIs is among the most sensitive data the HPA collects. Where a cell in a table has a number less than five, the risk of indirect ascertainment of the identity of those affected is assessed. Diagnoses of STIs in those aged under 15 years are not published by single year of age because the small numbers concerned, together with the additional information of the exact year of age, pose too great a risk of deductive disclosure. Therefore, only aggregate information on STI diagnoses in those aged under 15 years is presented in HPA publications and there are no plans to review this policy.
	Information on the number of selected STIs for those diagnosed in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics and in the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) in England, in those under the age of 15, 2005-09, is given in the following table.
	
		
			   STI  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 GUM clinics Gonorrhoea 71 49 60 47 43 
			  Syphilis 10 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Genital herpes 35 33 56 67 56 
			  Genital warts 139 138 153 149 177 
			  Chlamydia 317 328 332 356 264 
			
			 Community-based chlamydia screening (NCSP) Chlamydia 181 217 471 720 714 
			 (1) Suppressed value less than five (between 0 and five)  Notes: GUM data: 1. The data available from the KC60 (2008 and earlier) and GUMCAD (2009 onwards) returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as General Practice, are not recorded in the GUMCAD dataset. 2. The data available from the KC60 and GUMCAD returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. 3. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  NCSP data: 4. The NCSP has been phased in since 1 April 2003 with all 152 primary care trusts reporting data to the programme since March 2008. Therefore numbers of diagnoses have risen substantially as the proportion of sexually active under 25 year olds who have been tested has increased. 5. The NCSP data are for positive chlamydia screens conducted outside of GUM clinics. 6. The data available from the NCSP are the number of diagnoses made and not the number of patients diagnosed. 7. NSCP data exclude those resident outside of England. Additional notes on table: 8. There will be over counting of chlamydia data as patients from the NCSP may be referred to GUM clinics. 9. STI related infections in infants and young children such as ophthalmia neonatorum due to chlamydia or gonorrhoea, herpes and congenital syphilis will also be included in the table.  Source: Health Protection Agency, KC60 and GUMCAD returns; NCSP returns. Date of data: August 2010

Suicide: Armed Forces

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider the merits of introducing a comprehensive mental health education programme to address the vulnerability to suicide of those leaving the armed forces.

Paul Burstow: My hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) recently submitted a report on the mental health of service people and veterans which was commissioned by the Prime Minister and has been welcomed by the Government. Officials from the Department of Health and Ministry of Defence are currently working on implementing these proposals.

Tobacco: Sales

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations in opposition to the proposed prohibition on tobacco displays his Department has received since 28 July 2010.

Anne Milton: Many representations have been made by interested parties on both sides of this argument by letter and e-mail, in meetings and by other methods, ever since the Department began consultations in May 2008. These have continued and the Department has received over 6,000 items of official correspondence mentioning tobacco displays since 28 July 2010. The majority of these come from a postcard campaign by the Association of Convenience Stores launched on 9 August 2010 opposing the new legislation.
	It is not possible to provide a definitive total of all representations, however made, or an accurate breakdown of whether they oppose or support the prohibition of tobacco displays.

Transplant Surgery: Health Services

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the provision of healthcare for transplant patients, with particular reference to the  (a) financial and  (b) health effects on such patients of prescription charges.

Anne Milton: In the period 12 May 2010 to 8 October 2010, the Department had received around 280 written representations about prescription charges from hon. Members (including the hon. Lady's question), Noble Lords and members of the public. Some of these may have concerned transplant patients.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Civil Servants: Pensions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many former civil servants who had left service between 1 June 1972 and 1 October 2002 but who had fallen ill before attaining the age of 60 received a lump sum under the Civil Service Pension Scheme in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Francis Maude: I have been asked to reply.
	The Civil Service Pension Scheme medical adviser supported 179 former scheme member applications for early payment of deferred benefits in 2008-09 and 137 in 2009-10. As well as a pension lump sum they would also have begun receiving their ongoing civil service pension. These former members would have left employment on or after 1 June 1972.

CABINET OFFICE

Third Sector Compact

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans his Department has for the future of the compact on relations between Government and the third sector in England.

Nick Hurd: The Compact is an important framework for the relationship between the state and the sector.
	The Prime Minister has made it clear that we need to strengthen it. That work is currently being undertaken with Compact Voice. The intention is to bring it up to date, make it sharper and increase the transparency and accountability around implementation.

National Citizen Service

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the cost of providing a national citizen service place for every 16-year-old by 2015.

Nick Hurd: Over the next two years we intend to test a range of different approaches for delivering National Citizen Service. Doing so will help us to identify the most cost-effective way to deliver a high-quality National Citizen Service experience to 16-year olds. We will have a clearer idea of the likely costs of a wider roll-out of National Citizen Service once we have evaluated the two year pilot phase.

Voluntary and Community Sector

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his policy is on increasing the resources to be allocated to the voluntary and community sector.

Nick Hurd: One of the priorities in the Office for Civil Society is to help get more resources into the sector-both time and money. Last Thursday we published "Building a Stronger Civil Society" a strategy for the voluntary, community and a social enterprise sector. Specific plans are subject to the spending review which was announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer today.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent progress has been made on his Department's review of non-departmental public bodies.

Francis Maude: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department he plans to  (a) abolish,  (b) retain,  (c) retain with modifications,  (d) merge with other bodies and  (e) retain pending further consideration; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made to the House on 14 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 26-28WS.

Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the mortality rate was for each type of cancer in people aged  (a) 49 years and under,  (b) 50 to 59 years,  (c) 60 to 69 years, ( d) 70 to 79 years and  (e) over 80 years in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the incidence was of each type of cancer in people aged  (a) 49 years and under,  (b) 50 to 59 years,  (c) 60 to 69 years,  (d) 70 to 79 years and  (e) over 80 years in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people aged  (a) 49 years and under,  (b) 50 to 59 years,  (c) 60 to 69 years,  (d) 70 to 79 years and  (e) over 80 years were diagnosed with each type of cancer in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking:
	1. What the mortality rate was for each type of cancer in people aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59 years, (e) 60 to 69 years, (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 80 years in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years.
	2. What the incidence was of each type of cancer in people aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59 years, (c) 60 to 69 years, (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 80 years in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years.
	3. How many people aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59 years, (c) 60 to 69 years, (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 80 years were diagnosed with each type of cancer in (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care trust and (iii) England in each of the last five years.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007, while the latest figures for mortality are for the year 2009. However, since the latest available population estimates for primary care organisations and cancer networks (required to calculate rates) are for the year 2008, all mortality rates have been provided up to 2008.
	Question 2 above requests figures on 'incidence... [for] each type of cancer', which is the same as 'how many people... were diagnosed' (question 3). Question 2 has the therefore been interpreted as meaning incidence rates.
	To supply mortality rates, incidence rates and incidence numbers for all types of cancer for (i) each cancer network, (ii) each primary care organisation and (iii) England in each of the last five years could only be done at disproportionate cost. Therefore, figures have been provided for the four most commonly diagnosed cancers: breast (women), colorectal (bowel), lung and prostate.
	Age-specific rates have been provided for England, using the age groups as specified in the questions above. Age-standardised rates have been provided for cancer networks and primary care organisations, since numbers were too low to calculate cancer-specific, age-specific rates for all age groups, for all areas.
	Table 1 (i) provides the age-standardised mortality rate for breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, for each cancer network in England, for the years 2004 to 2008.
	Table 1 (ii) provides the age-standardised mortality rate for breast (women), colorectal. lung and prostate cancer, for each primary care organisation in England, for the years 2004 to 2008.
	Table 1 (iii) provides the age-specific mortality rate for breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, for persons aged (a) 49 years and under , (b) 50 to 59 years, (c) 60 to 69 years, (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 60 years , for England, for the years 2004 to 2006.
	Table 2 (i) provides the age-standardised incidence rate for breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, for each cancer network in England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Table 2 (ii) provides the age-standardised incidence rate for breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, for each primary care organisation in England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Table 2 (iii) provides the age-specific incidence rate for breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, for persons aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59 years, (c) 60 to 69 years, (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 60 years , for England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Table 3 (i) provides the number of newly diagnosed breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancers, for each cancer network in England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Table 3 (ii) provides the number of newly diagnosed breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancers, for each primary care organisation in England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Table 3 (iii) provides the number of newly diagnosed breast (women), colorectal, lung and prostate cancers, for persons aged (a) 49 years and under, (b) 50 to 59 years, (c) 60 to 69 years , (d) 70 to 79 years and (e) over 60 years , for England, for the years 2003 to 2007.
	Copies of all tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

General Election 2010: Fraud

John Spellar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what evidence his Department has collected on the extent of alleged electoral fraud at the May 2010 general election.

Mark Harper: The Cabinet Office does not collect information on the extent of fraud but the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers undertake systematic monitoring of allegations of electoral malpractice reported to the police during the election period. Cabinet Office officials also attend meetings of relevant stakeholders hosted by the Electoral Commission to discuss issues related to electoral integrity.
	The Electoral Commission has indicated that it will publish the verified data arising from this process, and analysis on the extent and nature of electoral malpractice reported during 2010 (including the May UK general election), in January 2011.

Older People

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) male and  (b) female centenarians there were in England and Wales in each year from 1980 to 2005.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck dated October 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking how many (a) male and (b) female centenarians there were in England and Wales in each year from 1980 to 2005 (017418).
	Estimates of the number of centenarians are published by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales combined. The table below gives the requested information.
	
		
			  Estimated number of centenarians, 1980-2005, England and Wales 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 1980 300 2,000 2,300 
			 1981 300 2,100 2,400 
			 1982 300 2,200 2,600 
			 1983 300 2,400 2,800 
			 1984 400 2,600 2,900 
			 1985 400 2,700 3,100 
			 1986 400 2,900 3,300 
			 1987 400 3,100 3,600 
			 1988 500 3,300 3,800 
			 1989 500 3,500 4,000 
			 1990 500 3,600 4,000 
			 1991 500 3,700 4,200 
			 1992 500 4,000 4,500 
			 1993 500 4,300 4,800 
			 1994 500 4,400 4,900 
			 1995 500 4,600 5,200 
			 1996 500 4,700 5,300 
			 1997 500 4,900 5,400 
			 1998 600 5,100 5,700 
			 1999 600 5,300 5,900 
			 2000 700 5,500 6,200 
			 2001 700 5,900 6,700 
			 2002 800 6,300 7,000 
			 2003 800 6,500 7,300 
			 2004 900 6,800 7,700 
			 2005 1,000 7,100 8,100 
			  Note: Figures rounded to nearest 100, may not add exactly due to this rounding.  Source: Office for National Statistics

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Contracts

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which companies, other than Calyx (UK), responded to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's invitation to tender for the provision of infrastructure and enterprise software support; and what criteria were used to determine which respondee was awarded the contract.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald to Ian Liddell-Grainger:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for information on the companies who responded to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's invitation to tender for the provision of infrastructure and enterprise software support; and what criteria were used to determine which respondee was awarded the contract. (17618)
	The companies that responded to the invitation to tender for the provision of infrastructure and enterprise software support were:
	Computacenter (UK) Ltd
	Insight Direct (UK) Ltd
	Probrand Ltd
	Calyx (UK) Ltd formed part of the Insight Direct (UK) Ltd tender.
	Information on the assessment criteria applied during this process has already been provided in our answer given in respect of a previous question on 12 October 2010,  Official Report, column 258W.

Manpower: Parliamentary Standards Authority

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary staff the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority employs in each pay band.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
	 Letter from Andrew McDonald to Helen Jones:
	As Interim Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) permanent and (b) temporary staff the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority employs in each pay band. 17890
	The number of permanent, fixed term and temporary full time equivalent staff employed in each IPSA salary range as of 14 October 2010 is shown below. Temporary staff have been assigned to the salary grade of the position in which they are working.
	
		
			  Job grade  Permanent  Fixed term  Temporary (incl. secondees) 
			 Senior Civil Service or equivalent 0 1 4.7 
			 Grade F (£60,000-£73,000) 2 0 0 
			 Grade E (£46,000-£61,500) 5 1 3 
			 Grade D (£35,000-£46,000) 4 1 4 
			 Grade C (£30,500-£37,000) 9.5 4 1 
			 Grade B (£23,000-£30,500) 17 0 15 
			 Grade A (£19,500-£25,000) 5 0 6 
			 Total 42.5 7 33.7

JUSTICE

Courts: Bedfordshire

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department allocated to HM Courts Service in Bedfordshire in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the level of funding for that service in Bedfordshire in  (a) 2010-11 and  (b) 2011-12.

Jonathan Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) allocated £7.41 million in Bedfordshire in 2009-10 and the latest estimate of the budget for 2010-11 is £7.08 million. This reduction of 4% in the allocation in 2010-11 is consistent with the reductions across HMCS as a result of efficiencies.
	The estimate for 2011-12 will not be available until the announcement of the outcome of the spending review and the subsequent work in identifying the breakdown of this settlement across the rest of Her Majesty's Courts Service.

Crime: Victims

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what arrangements are in place to inform  (a) victims of crime,  (b) their families and  (c) police officers about family and victim impact statements.

Crispin Blunt: Victim Impact Statements are now officially known as Victim Personal Statements. All victims of crime or, in cases of homicide, the family of the victim are eligible to make a VPS. The present method of providing a leaflet to inform victims of the Victim Personal Statement is currently being reviewed, but the relevant information and the offer to make a statement can still be provided by the police.
	Bereaved families of homicide victims are also offered the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement under the Crown Prosecution Service's Victim Focus Scheme. Families can meet with prosecutors, who will explain the purpose of the statement.
	Ensuring that police officers offer victims or their families the opportunity to make a Victim Personal Statement is the responsibility of individual police forces, many of which have local policies in place. In October 2009, the former Office of Criminal Justice Reform released national guidance called 'Victim Personal Statements: A guide for police officers, investigators and criminal justice practitioners'.

Domestic Violence: Rape

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to review guidelines on grant of pre-trial bail to those accused of  (a) serious domestic violence and  (b) rape of a partner.

Crispin Blunt: The decision whether to grant bail is a matter for the discretion of the court and the Ministry of Justice does not issue guidance. However, the Crown Prosecution Service issues guidance to Crown Prosecutors on prosecuting cases of domestic violence and rape, and this includes advice on how prosecutors should approach the question of bail. The guidance makes clear that the primary concern of the CPS in such cases is the protection of the victim and any children that may be involved. It emphasises the need to gather as much information as possible on the needs and views of victims where the CPS is deciding whether to oppose bail or is recommending conditions to be imposed on a defendant before release. The CPS keeps its guidance under constant review.

Legal Aid

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of the legal aid budget in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Wales was spent on the 10 per cent. of cases which resulted in the greatest cost to the public purse in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost as the Legal Services Commission would need to collate and manually check a significant amount of information from various sources.

Probation: Training

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on training probation officers in 2009-10.

Crispin Blunt: The cost of providing training for trainee probation officers to qualify as probation officers in the period April 2009 to March 2010 was £26,998,207. These costs include the trainee salary, pension contribution and the university administration cost.

Regional Offender Managers

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of employing and training Probation Service offender managers in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each probation area in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: For the period April 2009-March 2010 the estimated cost of employing all qualified probation officers/offender managers in probation areas and Trusts in England and Wales was £152,282,756.
	The estimated cost of the training leading to qualification as probation officers/offender managers was £26,998,207 (consisting trainee allowance of £24,526,100 and higher education costs of £2,472,107).
	The estimated costs, for each probation area/trust and region, for the period April 2009-March 2010, are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2009-10 
			  Probation area/trust  Trainee probation officer allowance  Higher education costs  Qualified probation offender managers total basic salary costs 
			 South West - 192,038 - 
			 Avon and Somerset 710,600 - 3,277,784 
			 Devon and Cornwall 339,300 - 3,905,148 
			 Dorset 222,000 - 1,643,436 
			 Gloucestershire 258,700 - 1,209,279 
			 Wiltshire 456,600 - 872,882 
			 
			 East of England - 262,596 - 
			 Bedfordshire 203,700 - 1,530,177 
			 Cambridgeshire 325,900 - 2,143,527 
			 Essex 168,800 - 1,542,096 
			 Hertfordshire 280,800 - 1,745,800 
			 Norfolk 356,300 - 1,290,705 
			 Suffolk 338,300 - 2,362,988 
			 
			 North West - 353,106 - 
			 Cheshire 353,700 - 2,662,210 
			 Cumbria 307,200 - 1,562,922 
			 Lancashire 631,500 - 5,014,847 
			 Greater Manchester 1,331,300 - 9,727,650 
			 Merseyside 832,200 - 6,422,498 
			 
			 North East - 76,010 - 
			 Durham 187,500 - 2,655,248 
			 Teesside 156,900 - 2,958,494 
			 Northumbria 445,200 - 4,377,804 
			 
			 South East - 306,705 - 
			 Hampshire 531,900 - 4,142,483 
			 Kent 423,200 - 3,091,834 
			 Surrey 390,500 - 1,203,794 
			 Sussex 873,000 - 3,908,967 
			 Thames Valley 1,140,000 - 4,165,216 
			 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside - 215,976 - 
			 Humberside 453,900 - 2,547,462 
			 North Yorkshire 158,500 - 2,407,290 
			 South Yorkshire 634,400 - 5,028,177 
			 West Yorkshire 678,900 - 7,764,139 
			 
			 Midlands - 425,417 - 
			 Derbyshire 296,000 - 2,858,782 
			 Leicestershire 418,500 - 4,005,113 
			 Lincolnshire 151,200 - 1,059,138 
			 Northamptonshire 152,000 - 1,780,316 
			 Nottinghamshire 570,400 - 3,880,284 
			 Staffordshire 283,500 - 3,079,768 
			 Warwickshire 218,500 - 1,527,794 
			 West Mercia 324,700 - 2,163,834 
			 West Midlands 691,900 - 11,149,503 
			 
			 London 6,862,100 432,425 21,116,280 
			 
			 Wales - 207,834 - 
			 Dyfed-Powys 313,700 - 923,337 
			 Gwent 157,700 - 2,159,508 
			 North Wales 507,600 - 1,817,878 
			 South Wales 387,500 - 3,596,364 
			 
			 Total 24,526,100 2,472,107 152,282,756 
			  Notes: Column 1 shows how the trainee allowance was allocated to individual probation areas and trusts to cover the salaries and pensions of trainee probation officer/offender managers. Column 2 shows the additional higher education costs for trainee probation officers for each region. Column 3 shows total salary costs for qualified offender managers. This is a snapshot at 31 March 2010 collected from probation areas/trusts via the HR Data Warehouse. Local technical/staffing issues prevented West Mercia (November 2009 data provided), West Midlands (January 2010 data provided), North Yorkshire, Surrey, and Sussex (February 2010 figures provided) providing data as at March 2010.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of young offenders re-offended within one year of being released from custody in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The latest reoffending rate for young people (those aged between 10 and 17) released from custody in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2008 is 74.3%.
	Reoffending rates for young people are based on whether an offender has been convicted at court or received an out-of-court disposal for an offence in the year following release from custody.

WALES

National Assembly for Wales

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions she has had with  (a) ministerial colleagues,  (b) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (c) the Boundary Commission for Wales on reviewing the boundaries of National Assembly for Wales constituencies; and what implications the outcome of the referendum on further powers for the National Assembly for Wales will have on the outcomes of that review.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply.
	Clause 11 of the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill breaks the link between Assembly constituencies and parliamentary constituencies in Wales, so that fewer parliamentary constituencies in future would not reduce the size of the Assembly.
	The Government intends to bring forward legislation at an appropriate time to establish the mechanism to review and alter Assembly constituencies. In the meantime, the Bill includes transitional provisions so that the Boundary Commission for Wales can decide whether to complete its current reviews.
	I have discussed the effects of the clause with the Secretary of State for Wales and the First Minister of Wales. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales has discussed future reviews of Assembly constituency boundaries with the Boundary Commission for Wales.
	The Government does not anticipate the outcome of the referendum on full law-making powers for the National Assembly for Wales affecting future reviews of Assembly constituency boundaries.

TREASURY

Child Benefit

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was allocated to expenditure on child benefit in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; and how much he has allocated in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13 and (iii) 2013-14.

Justine Greening: Child benefit expenditure is demand-led, and while Parliament votes on the allocation in the latest year, there is no set allocation for future years.

Departmental Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid  (a) electronically and  (b) by cheque.

Justine Greening: The average cost of processing an invoice to the Treasury in 2008-09, including staff costs and a proportionate share of relevant overheads, was £10.10. Within that period, 99.2% of invoices were paid electronically with the balance of 0.8% being paid by cheque.

Departmental Consultants

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible in each year since 2005.

Justine Greening: Details of spending on external consultants for the Treasury and the Debt Management Office is shown in table 5 of Annex A to the Treasury's 2009-10 resource accounts, which is available from
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	The Asset Protection Agency, which was set up on 7 December 2009 spent £1,856,000 in 2009-10 on external consultants. There was no such spending by the Royal Mint Advisory Committee.

Departmental Drinking Water

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2008.

Justine Greening: Since June 2008, meetings at the Treasury's 1 Horse Guards Road building have been supplied with in-house bottled filtered water, rather than bottled water sourced from outside suppliers. Spending from June 2008 until the end of the 2008-09 financial year was £27,000 and for 2009-10 it was £39,000. Spending in the first six months of 2010-11 of £8,000 was significantly below the equivalent period in the previous year. It is not possible to separately identify costs of bottled water prior to June 2008 as this formed part of the cost of meeting refreshments that included teas and coffees, bottled water and biscuits.

Departmental Equality

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether his Department undertook an equalities impact assessment in respect of the measures proposed in the June 2010 Budget; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will publish the equality impact assessment his Department made of the measures in the June 2010 Budget; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: holding answers 27 July and 6 September 2010
	The Budget is an overall statement of economic policy, containing a whole range of measures. Therefore, it is not possible to make an overall assessment of the Budget.
	Instead, Departments consider the equality impact of their policies as they are developed and implemented. Policy teams will continue to consider the impact of the individual budget measures on gender, race and disability as they further develop and implement the policies. This is in line with their legal obligations and will build on what they have done already.

Departmental Pensions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each region of England and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2010-11.

Justine Greening: The information available on pension spending in the past three years and forecast spending for 2010-11 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   HM Treasury  Debt Management Office  Asset Protection Agency 
			 2007-08 10,448 851 n/a 
			 2008-09 9,558 (1)898 n/a 
			 2009-10 10,062 981 23 
			 2010-11 forecast n/a 1,041 76 
			 (1) This figure has been restated since publication of DMO's 2008-09 accounts reflecting the adoption of IAS 19 staff benefits. 
		
	
	The Department's accounting systems do not identify pension payments by region.
	The Royal Mint Advisory Committee has not made any pension payments in the past three years and has no plans to make any payments in 2010-11.

Departmental Security

Graham Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the change in the amount of expenditure by his Department on security between  (a) 2004-05 and 2005-06 and  (b) 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Justine Greening: Spending in 2005-06 on security was higher than usual mainly due to a contribution of £240,000 by the Treasury to the Government Secure Zone (GSZ) project. The GSZ designates that area of central London containing major Government and public buildings and the programme consisted of a linked series of projects to enhance security within the zone.

Departmental Training

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what training has been provided for Ministers in his Department since the formation of the present administration; and at what cost.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude) to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on 3 June 2010,  Official Report column 51-52W. The National School of Government is funded through its Core Learning programme to deliver induction and other training to Ministers, and there is no separate charge to Departments.
	HM Treasury Ministers have not received training from any other providers.

Doctors: Vetting

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an estimate of the savings likely to be made consequent on reducing the number of Criminal Record Bureau checks for junior doctors, as referred to in his Department's Spending Challenge.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply.
	Our estimate is that the potential scale of the annual savings from national health service trusts reducing the number of unnecessary Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks on junior doctors would be up to £1 million per year.
	This figure is an estimate based on the number of registrars and doctors in training and the current cost of a CRB check. Other potential savings could also arise from indirect costs (e.g. administrative time associated with processing forms etc).
	The Home Secretary announced on 15 June that the CRB checking regime would be reviewed. The terms of reference for the review will be announced shortly.

Employment

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Department has made of employment growth in each  (a) region and  (b) sector in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury has not made an estimate of employment by sector, broken down by region in the coming years.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility's Budget 2010 forecast shows that total unemployment will come down from 8.1% this year, falling in every year to 6.1% in 2015. The OBR forecast is for total employment to rise by 1.3 million by 2015-16.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Katy Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for pilot schemes to reduce fuel prices  (a) on the Isle of Arran and  (b) in other remote rural areas.

Justine Greening: The Government intend to introduce a pilot scheme that will deliver a maximum of 5 pence per litre duty discount on petrol and diesel in remote rural areas. The Government are considering the exact scope of the pilots and at present has announced its intention to include the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and the Isles of Scilly. The Government will report back to the House, in due course, prior to submitting a formal proposal on the scope and design of the scheme to the European Commission.

Tax Collection

Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans he has to reduce the amount of tax due to the Exchequer which is not collected; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the additional revenue that would accrue to the Exchequer if tax collection were  (a) 90 per cent.,  (b) 95 per cent. and  (c) 100 per cent. of annual liabilities in 2010-11;
	(3)  whether his proposals to reduce the budget deficit includes an increase in the proportion of tax liabilities collected; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced the Government will make available £900 million over the spending review period to raise additional revenues from those who undermine the tax system and seek to avoid paying their fair share. This should bring in around £7 billion per annum by 2014-15 in additional tax revenues. Full implementation plans will be available after the spending review announcements on 20 October.
	The recent publication of the tax gap figures for 2008-09 puts the overall tax gap at £42 billion (9% of estimated total tax liability), and is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/measuring-tax-gaps-2010.htm.pdf

Taxation: Developing Countries

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in establishing a multilateral instrument for tax information exchange with developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Government are committed to ensuring that developing countries benefit from recent improvements in tax transparency. The Government are currently in discussions with a number of developing countries to explore the available approaches to enable developing countries to benefit from the new transparent tax environment. This includes examining multilateral instruments for tax information exchange.

Taxation: Developing Countries

Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to support capacity-building projects in respect of the tax collection administrations in developing countries.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) actively supports projects to enhance the capacity of tax collection administrations in developing countries.
	In many instances, it is more cost-efficient for this work to be undertaken on a multilateral basis, which is why in recent years HMRC has engaged proactively in capacity building initiatives organised by the Intra-European Organisation of Tax administrations (IOTA), which includes in its membership 46 countries across the European continent, including developing countries in the Balkans and eastern Europe.
	HMRC is also involved with the OECD Informal Task Force on Tax and Development which is examining how capacity building in the tax administrations of developing countries can be targeted to bring the greatest benefit to developing countries. The UK will remain closely involved in this work.
	HMRC hosts and runs two flagship training courses on behalf of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA). The courses are designed to develop management capability and technical skills and are attended by senior managers and tax inspectors from Commonwealth countries.
	HMRC is also involved in a number of bilateral initiatives such as the partnership with the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA), under which managerial and technical assistance is provided to support ERCA's modernisation programme.

Welfare Tax Credits

Kate Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of tax credit recipients who will be affected by the proposed reduction in the disregard of increases in income from £25,000 to £5,000.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 June 2010,  Official Report, column 584W.

Working Tax Credit: Fraud

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the monetary value of fraudulent claims under the childcare element of working tax credit where parents register children who do not subsequently attend before- and after-school clubs in the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of such claims.

David Gauke: The information is not available as HMRC's systems do not record this level of detail. For information relating to HM Revenue and Customs compliance checks on tax credits awards I refer my hon. Friend to the information published on pages R41 and R42 of the 2009-10 Comptroller and Auditor General's standard reports at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/hmrc-accs-0910.pdf